Freshman guard Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.) scored 22 points, and the University of Florida men's basketball never trailed en route to a 77-64 win over Georgia on Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
The Gators (21-7 overall, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) earned their 10th straight win over the Bulldogs in the series and have claimed four straight in Athens. The victory also snapped a three-game road losing streak.
Sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore forward Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) chipped in 13 points aided by a 3-of-4 effort beyond the arc.
Calathes has scored in double figures in 12 of 13 SEC games. Calathes was held to seven points in Florida's 77-67 victory over Georgia on Feb. 9 in Gainesville, but he responded in the second meeting connecting on 7-of-14 from the field on Wednesday night.
Albert Jackson scored four of Georgia's first six points as the Bulldogs attacked inside in the first half. Florida countered with three 3-pointers by Calathes in the first three minutes. The Gators made 6 of 11 3-pointers in the first half to take a comfortable lead 45-32 at the break.
A three-point play by Speights pushed the lead to 62-44 midway through the second half, and he again stretched the lead to 18 at 65-47 with a jam with 8:15 left to play.
Georgia came no closer than 12 points the rest of the way. It was Florida's 3-point shooting that once again proved to be the difference. The Gators drained 9-of-19 3-point shots, while Georgia made only 2 of 15.
Sundiatta Gaines scored 13 points and Jackson had 12 for Georgia, who fell to 12-14 overall and 3-10 in league play. Georgia suffered its fourth straight loss and has lost 9 of 10.
Florida welcomes Mississippi State to the O'Connell Center for a nationally televised contest at 4 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on CBS.
