Gator make it 10 straight vs. UGA behind Thomas Haugh's career high

Behind a career-high performance Saturday from freshman forward Thomas Haugh, the Gators rallied at Georgia for their fifth comeback win of the season. With the 88-82 victory, they’ve won seven of their last eight games and 10 straight against UGA.

Trailing at the break, the Gators took their first lead at the 14:53 mark of the second half — the only lead change of the game — and led the rest of the way. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to three with 1:19 left on a 3-pointer by Noah Thomasson, but Haugh and Zyon Pullin sealed the win with five free throws in the final minute.

With four fouls on three Florida bigs, Haugh stepped up with 17 points — 12 in the first half on 100% shooting, including 3-for-3 from downtown — and scored twice late, the first an offensive putback and then a driving layup with 1:42 left. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds — four offensive boards, the last one sending him to the line — and also had a block and steal.

“That boy balled today, didn’t he? He got after it,” UF coach Todd Golden said on SEC Network. “He’s been really good for us all year, to be honest. He’s been really good defensively. And after evaluating our games, the last couple, he’s just been so good for us. He guards, he gives us a little toughness, a little rebounding and he can really shoot it. … He played his butt off today and he’s the reason why we won.”

Haugh was one of five Gators in double figures, along with Walter Clayton Jr. (team-high 21 points), Pullin (16) and 10 apiece from Alex Condon and Will Richard, who surpassed 1,000 career points. Clayton has now scored 20-plus in three straight games, four of the last five and nine overall.

Pullin also posted seven rebounds and five assists with zero turnovers in 38 minutes of action. The Gators had a five-point possession to go up seven with 5:41 to play as Condon hit a 3-pointer and Clayton knocked down two free throws after being fouled under the basket.

Thomasson led Georgia with a season-high 26. UGA made its first eight fields, built an 11-point lead and shot 60 percent in the first half with 46 points. After Golden harped on Florida’s defense at the break, the Bulldogs hit just one of their first nine attempts halfway through the second period and went almost 10 minutes without a field goal, finishing 37% for the half.

“We had two very lackluster defensive halves in a row, you know, giving up 46 to LSU on Wednesday and then giving up another 46-spot in the first half today. And that’s just garbage. Not good enough,” Golden said. “The guys got an earful at halftime and we just really challenged them.

“Because we knew if we did a better job on the defensive end that we would have a really good chance to win. So that was kind of the message, talking about, ‘If you want to stay on the floor, you better guard somebody’. And we did a much better job of that in the second half.”

The Gators (18-7, 8-4 SEC) are back on the road Wednesday at No. 15 Alabama. Tip is at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2. The Crimson Tide (18-7, 10-2) had a 100-75 win Saturday over Texas A&M, the only team to beat Florida in the last eight games.

“They’re a juggernaut offensively,” Golden said of the Tide. “They are really hard to guard. I’m sure there’s a system or a style that’s going to slow them down, especially on their home floor. But I’ll be honest, getting this one done today takes a little pressure off that one for us on Wednesday. We can go in there playing with some freedom and try to get an upset on the road.”