Georgia withstands late push to upset No. 3 Florida

By Charles Odum

Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia guard Blue Cain sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining after No. 3 Florida took its first lead by scoring 13 unanswered points, and the Bulldogs beat the Gators 88-83 on Tuesday night.

Florida, which trailed by 26 points in the first half, rallied from a 78-67 deficit with the 13-0 run to lead 80-78. Cain’s 3 ended the run.

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Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) boosted its hopes for its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015. The Bulldogs ended Florida’s 12-game winning streak in series and gave coach Mike White his first win against his former team.

White had been 0-6 against the Gators. The Bulldogs’ last win in the series was 61-55 in 2019.

Will Richard scored a career-high 30 points but Florida (24-4, 11-4) fell short of pulling off its second comeback in four days. The Gators rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to beat LSU 79-65 Saturday night.

Silas Demary Jr. led Georgia with 21 points. Asa Newell had 15. Tyrin Lawrence had 14 points after missing three games with a hamstring injury.

Georgia fans obliged repeated requests from the public address announcer to give Florida’s team and officials 90 seconds to leave before charging the court. Fans then flooded the court.

Florida sophomore forward Alex Condon, who missed four games with a low ankle sprain, scored 9 points.

Thomas Haugh’s layup with 1:28 remaining gave the Gators their first lead at 79-78. They had 15 steals for a 29-12 advantage in points off turnovers.

Up next …

Florida vs. Texas A&M

When: 8:30, Saturday, O’Connell Center

TV: SEC Network