Junior Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.) led all scorers with 19 points guiding the third-ranked Florida Gators (14-2, 1-0) to a 67-51 win over the Georgia Bulldogs (8-5, 0-1) to open up Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Brewer and junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) both posted double-doubles in the victory. Brewer pulled in 10 rebounds to along with his game-high 19 points earning him his first double-double of the season and the second of his career. Noah had 13 points to go along with a game-best 13 bounds en route to his fourth double-double of the season and 11th of his career. Brewer also led the team with seven assists and four steals.
Senior guard Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) also finished in double figures with 16 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
After trailing going into the half 26-25, Brewer put the Gators ahead for good at 27-26 to start the second half making a basket and a subsequent free throw after being fouled on the shot. The Gators would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest pushing their advantage into double figures for the first time of the game at 44-34 with 10:57 remaining in the second half. UF's biggest advantage came on the game's last basket, a three pointer from Noah, which gave the Gators the 67-51 victory.
In a closely contested first half, the period featured four ties and four lead changes. Georgia held their biggest lead of the game of six at 11-5, but the Gators battled back to tie the game at 13-13. The scored stayed knotted at 13 for the next two and a half minutes, before the Bulldogs put in two baskets to go up by four. However, the Gators bounced right back going on an 11-0 run that lasted nearly four minutes to take a 24-17 advantage. Noah provided five of the points in the run with two dunks and free throw. Georgia answered the run with a 9-0 run of its own to regain the lead at 26-24 before a free throw by Brewer provided the game with its halftime score of a 26-25. Brewer led the Gators in scoring in the first half with 10 points.
The Gators were out rebounded, 22-12, in the first half, but came back in the second half to out rebound the Bulldogs 22-17. Despite pulling in more rebounds than the Gators in the game including 13 offensive boards, Georgia only came away with two second-chance points. Turnovers also proved to be a key for the Gators who forced 22 Bulldog turnovers and scored 20 points off of those turnovers, while only recording 12 miscues of their own.
Florida was just 2-for-8 from the free throw line in the first half, but made seven of 10 from the charity strip in the second half to finish the game at .500 from the free throw line. Junior Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) saw his consecutive free throws made streak come to an end at 27 when his missed the first of two shots at 15:88 in the second half. He had not missed a free throw since November 25. Green finished the game with nine points and four assists.
Takais Brown, Steve Newman and Billy Humphrey each posted a team-high 10 point effort for the Bulldogs. Five of Georgia's 10 second half baskets were three-pointers.
The two teams opened SEC play against each other for the second season in a row, with Florida also taking last year's game in Athens 90-72. UF has now won six straight SEC openers and the last six meetings with Georgia. Florida now holds a 97-94 edge all-time versus the Bulldogs. The win also improves UF's record to 11-0 at home this season and extends the home winning streak to 12 games dating back to last season.
Up next, the Gators take the court in the O'Connell Center on Tuesday, Jan. 9 against SEC West opponent Arkansas. Tip off is schedule for 7:00 p.m. ET.
