Bulldogs Add Sixth Game to Losing Streak After Being up over Florida
Athens, GA – After holding the lead all of the first half, the Georgia Bulldogs fall once again in their home-court rematch with the Florida Gators. The loss is not the most recent in a 6-game losing streak for the Bulldogs, who are now 14-11 and 4-8 in the conference. The Gators have improved to 18-7 and 8-4 in the SEC.
UGA came and opened up the first half with fury. After winning the tip-off, the Bulldogs went on a 10-4 scoring run, which ended with 17:44 left in the half. Graduate student guard Noah Thomasson had 10 points within the first four minutes to assist the Bulldogs in going up 16-9 with 16:23 left. Georgia continued the offensive attack to get the Dawgs' lead to peak at 11 with 13:34 on the clock. This high was immediately cut to four by a 7-0 Gator run that started with a three-point jumper from senior guard Zyon Pullin. Georgia extended the lead again, this time to 9, with 10:33 left, but UF cut the lead to 2 (down 29-31) after another Pullin three-pointer. Senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim and senior Justin Hill worked for a combined 5 points (3 from Abdur-Rahum and 2 from Hill) to expand the lead to 7 with 6:42 left. Each team traded a basket, and the Bulldogs had an opportunity to make it a 10-point game but failed to do so after four back-to-back missed free throws in the fifth remaining minute of the half. The Gators shaved down the UGA lead to 2 again with a three-point jumper by Thomas Haugh with 2:28 left. The Bulldogs answered with a pair of field goals from Thomasson and Hill with a minute and a half remaining to head into the locker room up 46-40.
Opening up the second half, UF added to the scoreboard first with a three-pointer from junior guard Walter Clayon Jr.; graduate student center Russel Tchewa responded for the Bulldogs with a jumper to make it a 48-43 game. Florida tied up the score for the first time in the game, 48-48 with 18:40 left, after a brief 5-0 scoring run. Junior guard R.J. Melendez gave Georgia its final lead (50-48) of the game with two consecutive made free throws. The Gators took their first lead of the game with a jumper from freshman forward Alex Condon to go up 52-50 with 14:53 left on the clock. Florida took advantage of this momentum and expanded their lead to 8 (61–53) through a series of jumpers and layups. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were experiencing a field goal drought, which started after Tchewa made his layup in the opening minute and persisted until freshman guard Blue Cain made a three-pointer with 9:15 left. Cain’s three-pointer brought the Dawgs within three of the Gators, 60-63. Abdur-Rahim went 2-2 on free throws to get the Dawgs within 1, the closest they would be for the rest of the game. The two teams traded baskets for a while until Condon and Calyon Jr. put together a 5-point play to give the Gators a 73-66 edge over the Bulldogs with 5:40 remaining. With 2:55 left, Florida was up 81-73 on UGA, but through two free throws and a layup from Hill as well as a three-point jumper from Thomasson, the Dawgs made it a three-point game down 80-83 with 1:19 remaining. Despite the Georgia effort, the Gators made five of six free throws to come out with the 88-82 victory.
Florida had five different Gators record double-digit points. Calyton Jr. led the pack with 21, followed by freshman forward Thomas Haugh with 17, Pullin with 16, and junior guards Will Richard and Condon, who each had 10. Pullin also led the Gators in assists with 5. As a team, the Gators shot 43.3% from field goal range, 37.55 from behind the arc, and 80.8% from behind the line. Thomasson led the offensive threat for the Dawgs with 26 points, making 10 of 18 field goal attempts. Tchewa followed behind Thomasson with 15 points, then Hill with 14, and Abdur-Rahim with 10. Hill performed along his season average (3.7) with 4 assists tonight. Throughout the game, UGA shot 50% from field goal range, 31.8% from three-point range, and 72.4% on free throws.
Georgia head coach Mike White commented on what the big difference was in the second half and said “live ball turnovers” and “transition defense, off of makes too at times.” Georgia racked up 14 turnovers throughout the game, 10 of which came in the second half. In contrast, Florida only had four turnovers, split evenly in each half. Florida also collected 39 total rebounds to UGA’s 31, 15 of which were offensive rebounds to UGA’s 7 offensive. Pullin led the Gators with 7 rebounds. Georgia also had some “ill-advised turnovers” and White said the Bulldogs “have to guard a lot better.”
The Bulldogs are looking to end their current losing streak this Wednesday, February 21st, on the road against Vanderbilt. To not only move past this loss but also get a win, White said the Dawgs are “going to work on the same things on Monday” and “make simpler decisions with the basketball.”
Other Georgia News:
- UGA Suffers Fourth Consecutive Loss after Falling to Mississippi State
- In a Game of Physicality, Georgia Loses their Third Straight to South Carolina
- After Leading the Majority of the Game, Georgia Falls to No. 24 Alabama
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