Allen scores 18 as UF beats Georgia

GAINESVILLE — KeVaughn Allen scored 18 points, John Egbunu notched his third doubledouble of the season and Florida beat Georgia 77-63 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday night.

Devin Robinson chipped in 13 points for the Gators (9-4) before leaving with a bruised chest late in the first half. He did not return.

Yante Maten led Georgia with 20 points, his sixth 20-plus-point outing in the last eight games. Kenny Gaines added 13.

The Bulldogs (7-4) had won four in a row. They dropped their 13th straight in Gainesville, a losing streak that dates to 2002.

Chris Chiozza may have delivered the biggest bucket when he drained a 3-pointer with about 7 minutes to play, pushing the Gators’ lead to 62-49. Chiozza finished with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Fellow point guard Kasey Hill added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Hill could have scored more, but he went 8 of 16 from the freethrow line.

Egbunu had 12 points and 12 boards for the Gators, who improved to 6-1 at home.

FSU falls

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Clemson’s Jordan Roper was just the latest guard to take advantage of Florida State’s sketchy perimeter defense.

Roper made 7 of 10 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead the Tigers (8-6,1-1Atlantic Coast Conference) to an 84-75 win over the Seminoles on Saturday.

Florida State (10-3, 0-1) has been scorched from outside before. Brian Bernardi went 6 of 8 on 3s for Hofstra in an 82-77 loss for the Seminoles, and Virginia Commonwealth’s Melvin Johnson was 8 of 14 from behind the arc in Florida State’s 76-71 win.

The win was especially important for Clemson, which plays all five of the ACC’s Top 25 teams in its first seven league games.

Malik Beasley, one of the two freshman starts for the Seminoles, led Florida State with 23 points. Bookert added 21 points, shooting 6 of 9 on 3-pointers.

UCF 71, ECU 68

A.J. Davis scored 23 points and UCF held off a late rally by East Carolina to win 71-68 Saturday in an American Athletic Conference opener.

Tanksley Efianayi scored 12 points, including three key free throws down the stretch. Daiquan Walker added 11 points and Adonys Henriquez 10 for UCF (7-5).

Trailing by three at halftime, the Pirates took a 30-28 lead on Prince Williams’ layup, then went on a 10-2 run while the Knights made only one field goal in six minutes.

UCF led 63-59 after Henriquez hit a 3 and Walker made a jumper. ECU closed within 66-63 on Williams’ layup, and then White hit a 3 with 19 seconds to pull the Pirates within a point. Davis and Efianayi sealed it with two free throws apiece after the teams traded fouls in the final 11 seconds.

B.J. Tyson led ECU (8-6) with 17 and White had 16.

The Seminoles have lost six of their past seven ACC openers. The only win was in 2013 at Clemson. … Bookert’s 21 points were a season high.