GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators were looking to finish strongly against a Top 25 team, and they held No. 18 Georgia to 34.3 percent in the second half of Tuesday evening’s 92-77 win over the Bulldogs. Georgia shot only 4-of-19 from three-point range, and the Bulldogs were able to assist only six of 29 made field goals.
Florida swingman Thomas Haugh recorded his third double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Alex Condon also contributed 21 points with his aggressive inside play. The Gators outscored the Bulldogs, 58-38, in the paint while out-rebounding Georgia, 56-35, with 22 of those being offensive boards as they outscored Georgia, 19-11, off of offensive rebounds.
“He’s turned himself into one of the better players in America, and has gone from, you know, a hard-playing role player as a freshman to a really, really good complementary piece as a sophomore to now just taking off,” said Florida coach Todd Golden.
Florida averages 13.1 turnovers per game and had four in the last 5:55 last night.
“We just handled the ball better, until the last two minutes, we had a couple of silly turnovers against the press, but the things that are important to us, and we talked about it a lot,” commented Golden. “We know our ceiling’s not as high, with our inconsistent perimeter shooting, but to beat a really good Georgia team at home here by 15 is a really good win for our program.”
Executing the Finish: The Gators took control out of halftime as guard Boogie Fland came back with a much more aggressive presence on both ends when he canned 4-of-4 free throws and dribbled to the rim and scored in transition twice. Fland gave Florida a 59-47 lead with 14:04 remaining in the game.
Rueben Chinyelou and Urban Klavzar combined for nine points in a 12-1 run that saw Chinyelou punctuate the sprint with a pair of hook shots. Klavzer’s three from the left baseline gave the Gators a 76-55 lead with 6:24 remaining in the game.
“We just handled the ball better, until the last two minutes, we had a couple of silly turnovers against the press, but the things that are important to us, and we talked about it a lot,” Golden explained. “We know our ceiling’s not as high, with our inconsistent perimeter shooting, but to beat a really good Georgia team at home here by 15 is a really good win for our program.”
Klavzar finished with 11 points while Chinyelu added 10. Fland finished with eight points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Bulldogs Open as an SEC Threat: Georgia started the season 13-1 before the loss at Florida, so they lead college basketball by averaging 97.1 points per game and they find 68 shots attempts (3rd/CBB) and make 33.4 (4th/CBB).
Shot-blocker Somto Cyril had a flagrant-2 and was ejected after a shot to the face on Chinyelu. Cyril (9.5 ppg. 6.1 rpg, 19.9 mpg) would have been a threat inside that Georgia could have used against the strong Florida front line.
Georgia’s Mike White described Cyril’s ejection as “incredibly difficult.” He gave forward Dylan James credit as he managed 16 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
“I want to say, like the last eight minutes of the game, (he) played the five,” said White. “He has not played the five, one possession, since we started with this team in June. Not one possession. Credit him with his first off, his toughness, his readiness to play, his attitude.”
Guard Smurf Millender led Georgia with 18 points while Jordan Ross had 13 and Kanon Catchings netted 12 to lead four Bulldogs in double figures.
“Somto Cyrill, what we do offensively revolves around him being down there on the baseline and his finishing ability,” noted White. “He has the highest field goal percentage of any guy in the country, and then defensively he’s arguably the best, most talented defender in the country.”
Florida held the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, Jeremiah Wilkinson, to two points as he was 1-of-9 from the field in 19 minutes.
Urban Nights: As Slovenian guard Urban Klavzar netted 11 points and played with his usual efficiency. Another efficient Urban was in the building as former Gators coach Urban Meyer sat across the court from Florida’s bench on the front row. He even visited the Gators’ locker room after the game, where he and Klavzar had a photo opportunity.
Golden talked about meeting Meyer at Dick Vitale’s gala. He said they texted this week, and Golden invited him to the locker room after the game.
“Our guys understand what he was able to do for this place, winning a national championship, and he was awesome, man,” Golden commented. “He was really, really positive with our guys. I think they really enjoyed it.”