Locke’s 3-pointers propel Gators

ATHENS, Ga. — If defense is the measuring stick, Florida is peaking just in time for the postseason.

Noah Locke sank back-to-back 3-pointers during Florida’s decisive run of 10 unanswered points in the second half and the Gators strengthened their NCAA Tournament hopes by beating Georgia 66-54 on Wednesday night.

Keyontae Johnson had 18 points for Florida (19-11, 11-6 Southeastern Conference), which had to recover after trailing by 13 points early in the game. The Gators had good reason for confidence. They overcame a 22-point deficit in their win over the Bulldogs last month.

Locke had 17 points while making three 3-pointers.

Georgia had scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games, including Saturday’s 99-89 win over Arkansas. Against Florida’s zone defense, however, Georgia struggled.

“That’s as well as we’ve defended all year,” said Florida coach Mike White. “It was easy to get these guys’ attention defensively. If not, they would have put up 90 on us.”

Anthony Edwards had 14 points, making only 3 of 10 shots from the field, in what is expected to be his final home game for Georgia. Edwards, a 6-foot-5 guard who is the nation’s top freshman scorer, is expected to be one of the top picks in the NBA draft.

“I don’t ever look at it like it’s my last home game,” Edwards said. “No one ever knows what I’m doing so I don’t say that.”

Scottie Lewis, who scored 11 points and blocked two shots, led the defensive effort on Edwards.

“Them getting that zone that they were in and packing it in was hard for us, because we weren’t prepared for that,” Edwards said.

Coach Tom Crean said he was surprised by Edwards’ comment. “We spent the majority of the time on the zone the past two days,” Crean said.

Georgia’s Jordan Harris said the Gators “changed their defense and they kept changing it the entire game.”

Rayshaun Hammonds had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six turnovers for Georgia (15-15, 5-12).