The 20th ranked Georgia Bulldogs went on a 13-0 second-half run to defeat the No. 2 Florida Gators 84-79 Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs ended Florida's school-record 14-game winning streak and beat the Gators at home for the second straight year.
Georgia (15-3, 4-1 SEC) shot 53 percent for the game and a blistering 62 percent in the second half while the Gators shot just 41 percent.
Florida (15-2, 4-1 SEC) played for the second straight game without starting guard Justin Hamilton, who has a separated shoulder. The Gator backcourt struggled with Orien Greene and James White combining for just 10 points while Brett Nelson was 5-for-19 from the field. Nelson scored all 17 of his points in the second half.
Gator coach Billy Donovan said the game came down to which team was more patient.
"We got into taking a lot of of quick, rushed shots early in the game," Donovan said. "Give Georgia a lot of credit. They remained very, very patient, even when they got down by 14 points in the game. They really executed and did not panic."
Reserve guard LaDarius Halton came off the bench to hit four three-pointers while the Gators were rolling off a 20-2 run in building a 29-18 lead. Florida's lead grew to 34-20 with under six minutes to go in the first half before Georgia climbed back into the game. Florida's lead was whittled down to just three, 39-36, at the half.
"We were not patient in our halfcourt offense," Donovan said. "We turned the ball over, and we didn't get back and do a very good job defending. We did not really execute, defensively, the game plan we had designed."
With four minutes left in the game, the Gators looked like they had things well in hand. They held a 67-62 lead, but Georgia went on a 13-0 run to open up its own 75-67 lead. The Bulldogs made 9-of-10 pressure-packed free throws to keep the Gators at bay the rest of the way.
Jarvis Hayes had a strong second half and led the Bulldogs with 23 points. Ezra Williams scored 19. Hayes' brother, Jonas, had 13 as did Bulldog football player Fred Gibson.
Udonis Haslem recorded his eighth double-double of the year with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Matt Bonner also had a double-double, with 16 points and 12 boards.
The loss means there are no more undefeated teams left in SEC action. Florida and Georgia are now tied at 4-1 in the SEC.
Donovan put the loss, after a 32-point win over LSU, in perspective. "You're probably not as good as you think you are and you're not as bad as people say you are. You have to keep an even keel."
Florida has a week off before resuming conference play with a game at Arkansas Saturday, Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. ET.
