Freshman forward
Chandler Parsons (Winter Park, Fla.) scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Florida men's basketball team past Georgia, 77-67, Saturday afternoon at the O'Connell Center.
The Gators (19-5, 6-3) defeated the Bulldogs (11-10, 2-6) for the ninth consecutive time dating back to 2004 and saw their bench outscore Georgia's, 27-0.
Parsons hit his first six shots from the field and led four UF players in double figures. Junior guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) added 14 points, freshman guard Jai Lucas (Houston, Texas) chipped in 13 and sophomore forward Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) had 10.
Parsons scored 10 during a 15-4 run Florida put together late in the first half, beginning the spurt with a jumper and finishing it with a 3-point play that gave the Gators a 43-34 edge.
First-half action was even with six lead changes and seven ties. Georgia trailed by seven points at halftime and stayed close until Florida pulled away for good in the last 13 minutes.
The Gators' full-court press proved effective again, scoring 29 points off of 20 Georgia turnovers. Georgia scored five points off of 12 Florida turnovers.
A layup by Hodge at the 3:28 mark in the second half gave Florida a 17- point lead, its largest of the game, and enough cushion to hold off any chance of a Georgia rally.
UF freshman guard Nick Calathes (Winter Park, Fla.) dished out six assists and Hodge had five assists. Werner tallied a career-high seven steals and also had six rebounds and three assists. Sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led Florida's rebounding effort with 10 boards.
Sundiata Gaines led Georgia with a career-high 32 points. He made 11 of 20 shots, including 6 of 10 3-point attempts, and was joined in double figures by Dave Bliss with 13 and Terrance Woodbury with 12.
Up next on the conference schedule, Florida hosts LSU at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will be televised on Raycom.
