Dan Werner had career highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds, helping the University of Florida men's basketball team rally from 11 points down to defeat Georgia Southern, 52-49, in front of 8,533 fans at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
Trailing 49-48 with 36 seconds remaining, Nick Calathes calmly drained a pair of free throws to give the Gators (10-1) a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The freshman added two more free throws to close out the game with 18 seconds left, finishing with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while going a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor.
The Gators won despite shooting a season-low 25.5 percent from the floor, as they never got into a flow offensively. Their ability to get to the line carried them over the top, as the Gators hit 24-of-30 free throws on the night.
Georgia Southern (7-2) jumped out of the gates with a quick 9-3 advantage and quickly assumed control of the game. They grabbed their biggest lead of the game in the final minute of the first half, grabbing a 27-16 lead before Werner connected just before the buzzer to send the Gators into the locker room down by just nine.
Florida was hit just 20.0 percent from the floor in the first half and was 0-8 from three-point range.
Werner and Calathes combined to score the Gators' first 15 points of the second half, as the two helped cut the lead to 36-33. The Gators finally drew even with 11:22 remaining when Chandler Parsons scored on a lay-up.
The teams battled back and forth over the final 10 minutes with UF taking a 46-43 lead on a Werner three-pointer with the shot clock expiring. The Eagles responded with a 6-2 run to take the lead, but missed a pair of free throws that would have extended their lead.
Calathes calmly delivered down the stretch, scoring their final four points from the line to help the Gators reach 10 wins at an earlier date than any season in school history (previous best was Dec. 18, 2005).
The Gators out-rebounded the Eagles 39-36, including 16 offensive rebounds. Seven of Werner's 14 rebounds were offensive, while four of Calathes' came on the offensive end.
The Gators return home on Wednesday when Charleston Southern comes to the O'Connnell Center for a 7 p.m. tilt. Tickets remain available for the game, contact the University of Florida Ticket Office at 352-375-4683, x6800 for details.
