Gators hold off Georgia to advance
NASHVILLE — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, Tyrese Samuel added 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds and No. 6 seed Florida beat Georgia 85-80 Thursday night in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The Gators (22-10) play No. 19 and third-seeded Alabama in the quarterfinals today. Florida and the Crimson Tide each won at home to split the regular season series with Alabama slipping by 98-93 in overtime on Feb. 21 before Florida scored its most points in a regulation game in a 105-87 win over the Tide on March 5.
“Rebounding was the emphasis this week. We worked on it a lot,” Samuel said. “Coming into the second half, it was really important because, especially for the bigs, nothing was really falling for us close to the rim. I feel like us rebounding helped us get our mojo back.”
Noah Thomasson and Silas Demary Jr. scored 14 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs. Justin Hill and RJ Melendez added 13 points apiece for No. 11 seed Georgia (16-15), which beat 14th-seeded Missouri 64-59 in the first round.
Demary made a layup and a 3-pointer 27 seconds apart, Russel Tchewa converted a three-point play and Demary added another layup to cap a 10-2 run and make it 68-all with 5:12 to play. Clayton answered with a 3 just 14 seconds later and Florida led the rest of the way.
“The biggest difference was we got on the glass. That was the biggest key,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “We had 16 total, so 12 offensive rebounds in the second half was the difference of the game, really.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half either around the rim. I don’t feel we finished very well. The second-chance opportunities allowed us to make some and get to the line.”
Thomasson hit a 3 to give the Bulldogs a seven-point lead with 16:29 left in the game. Zion Pullin scored in the lane 9 seconds later and Samuel converted a threepoint play that gave Florida its first lead of the second half before Kugel capped a 14-3 run with a layup that made it 53-49 with 11 minutes to go.
Thomasson answered with a 3 to cut the deficit to a point but Alex Condon was fouled as he made a layup and, moments later, Bulldogs coach Mike White was called for a technical foul. Condon hit the and-1 free throw before Clayton made both technical foul shots with 10:26 left. Clayton hit a 3 about 2 minutes later stretch Florida’s lead to 66-58 with 8 minutes to go.
Will Richard made a fast-break layup that gave Florida a ninepoint lead midway through the first half but the Gators made just two of their next 12 field-goal attempts. Melendez and RJ Sunahara answered with back-to-back 3s to make it a one-possession game just 40 seconds later and spark a 21-5 run that gave Georgia a 33-26 lead when Melendez hit another 3 to cap the spurt with 3:27 until halftime.
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For the result of the UF-Alabama game late Friday night, go to OrlandoSentinel.com/Sports