UF dominates Bulldogs with 2nd-half surge
Kevarrius Hayes saw no reason to worry even as Florida was letting another second-half lead fade away.
“Trailing by five, we had a lot of fight in us,” he said. “We understand the game is nowhere near over until the final buzzer. The game of basketball can change quickly.”
KeVaughn Allen scored 13 points, Noah Locke added 10 points and the Gators rallied from a brief secondhalf deficit to beat Georgia 62-52 on Saturday.
After losing to South Carolina, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 24 Mississippi State by an average less than five points, Florida (10-7, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) closed out the game by holding Georgia without a field goal for over nine minutes at the end of the second half.
Rayshaun Hammonds, Georgia’s leading scorer this season, was held without a point for the second time in the last five games. Secondleading scorer Nicolas Claxton had nine points and 12 rebounds.
Jordan Harris, taking Turtle Jackson’s spot in the starting lineup, had 10 points and was the only Bulldog to finish in double figures. It was an agonizing afternoon for Georgia (9-8, 1-4), which shot 5 for 14 beyond the arc and is 9 for 41 on 3s in the last two games.
The Bulldogs were outscored 28-10 in points off turnovers.
“We can just continue to drill on that and make sure guys secure the ball when they catch it and protect it because guys are swatting down trying to take it from you,” Harris said. “I think we’ve got to be aware of our surroundings when we catch the ball.”
Georgia, which has lost three straight and four of five, led by five on Harris’ reverse layup with 9:38 left in the game, but they didn’t score another field goal until 22 seconds remained.
The Bulldogs pulled within four midway through the first half before the Gators pushed the lead to 13 on Keith Stone’s dunk and
Mike Okauru’s three. Florida’s zone defense was active with four different players blocking a shot and holding Georgia to six field goals.
“I thought our body language, our mental toughness — I saw a little bit of difference [Saturday], especially defensively,” Gators coach Mike White said. “I thought we sat down in a stance and didn’t hope for stops. Instead we decided to get them.”