After Crawling Back From Trailing by 21, Georgia Loses in Overtime to Rival, Florida
Gainesville, FL -- The Georgia Bulldogs come up just short in an overtime loss on the road to Florida. With this loss, the Bulldogs fall to 14-6 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. The Gators are also now 4-3 in the SEC and 14-6 overall.
The first half saw a dominant scoring effort by Florida, who never trailed after putting the first points on the board with a dunk by sophomore center Micah Handlogten. The Gators opened up with a 12-5 run over the first four minutes, and UF would follow this up with a 12-4 run over the next five minutes to put the Gators at 24-9 with just under 11 minutes left. Junior Guard R.J. Melendez would respond for the Dawgs with back-to-back 3-point shots to kick off a 12-2 run and bring them back in the game, only down 5 with 7:20 left in the period. Junior guard Will Richard would pound a dunk for the Gators, ending the UGA run and starting an 11-0 UF run, which extended the Gators’ lead to 37-21 with 5:22 left. The Dawgs would outscore the Gators 13-10 for the remainder of the period, but UF still closed out the half with a lot of momentum and a significant lead, being up 47-34 on the Dawgs.
The Gators shot incredibly well in the first half, going 59.4% from field goal range, 55.6% from behind the arc, and 80% from the line. Each of these percentages is greater than the Dawgs’ free throw percentage, which was 50%. UGA also went 38.7% on field goals and 41.7% from 3-point range. Richard led the pack for the Gators, putting up 14 total in the first half and making 6 of 7 field goal attempts. The Gators' season scoring leader, junior guard Walter Clayton Jr., also had double digits in the first half with 11 points. For the Dawgs, Melendez had 13 points but was the only UGA player to reach above 6.
Defensively, the Gators also outperformed the Dawgs, producing 21 rebounds to Georgia’s 15 (9 of which came from graduate student center Russel Tchewa). Handlogten was a big part of this defensive effort for UF, as he led the Gators with 8 rebounds in the first half. Three other Gators would also record 3 rebounds in the first: Richard, Zyon Pullin, and Alex Condon.
The first half of the second period would not fare much better for the Dawgs. After a quick 3-point jumper from Georgia senior guard Jabri-Abdur Rahim, the Gators would go on a 9-1 run over the first three minutes to extend their lead to 18. After, the Dawgs and Gators would alternate scoring, with the Gators slightly outproducing the Dawgs to extend their lead to the Gator’s highest of the night, 21 points. UGA would respond by putting up 8 points unanswered to come within 13 of Florida with 10 minutes left.
It was within the last three and a half minutes of regulation that Georgia would start to consistently shave the UF lead. Freshman guard Blue Cain had 10 within this period to help the Dawgs outscore the Gators 13-2 for the rest of the second half. The Dawgs would also shut out the Gators offensively for the last 2 minutes and 58 seconds to tie up the game 85-85 at the end of regulation.
The Gators added to the scoreboard first in overtime after Pullin had a successful layup free throw combination. Each of the teams went back and forth, including important back-to-back UF field goals, which gave the Gators a small 7-point lead. UGA brought it within 2 with six seconds remaining, but it was not enough, and Florida pulled out the 102-98 victory.
The Bulldogs improved their shooting percentages after the first period, increasing to 52% from field goal range and 42.3% from behind the arc. The Dawgs’ free throw percentage, however, remained poor at 52.9% on 17 attempts the entire game. In comparison, the Gators went 85% on 20 attempts from the line and were able to maintain a high field goal percentage, shooting 54.9% overall. Florida's 3-point percentage fell to 35% by the end of the game.
Florida had a great day defending the ball, recording 48 rebounds, 16 offensive, and 32 defensive. In contrast, the Dawgs performed under their season average going into the game (37.4 rebounds) with only 27. However, Georgia had only 9 turnovers to UF’s 19.
Melendez was a game-changer for the Dawgs. The 6’7” junior had 35 points and made 13 of 19 field goal attempts. Melendez also led the team in steals, with 5 (of the team's 10 total) for the entire game. Three other Bulldogs had over 10 points: Tchewa (15), Cain (14), and Deamry Jr. (11). The Gators had five players hit double digits, four of whom had 18 or more. Handlogten led the team with 23, Pullin had 20, and both Clayton Jr. and Richard put up 18.
The game tonight marks the Dawgs’ first loss to a non-ranked opponent since they played Providence in November. Their performance this afternoon further displays the perseverance of this Bulldog team as a whole and their fight for the rest of the season. This is the first of two games between Georgia and Florida this season. The Dawgs will be looking for a win the next time the two face off in Athens on February 17th. The Bulldogs return home this Wednesday against Alabama at 6:30 PM EST.
Other Georgia News:
- Tchewa Comes Up Big for the Dawgs with Game Winner to Beat LSU
- UGA Suffers First Road Loss to No. 8 Kentucky
- UGA Ends South Carolina's 9-Game Home Win Streak in 74-69 Win
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