Georgia drops sixth straight as Bulldogs blow lead to Florida

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball was on the wrong end of a sixth straight on Saturday as the Bulldogs fell 88-82 to Florida at Stegeman Coliseum.

Leading by six at the halftime break, it’s another blown lead for UGA – something that’s been a problem for them in SEC play. Just four first-half turnovers turned into 14 on the game including eight in the first 9:00 of the second half, ending in Georgia being outscored 48-36 in the second frame.

Noah Thomasson scored a game-high 26 points, most by the Niagara transfer in his first season at Georgia, while Russel Tchewa (15), Justin Hill (14) and Jabri Abdur-Rahim (10) joined him in double-figures, but it wasn’t enough to fend off Florida and the five double-digit scoring Gators: Walter Clayton Jr. (21), Thomas Haugh (17), Zyon Pullin (16), Will Richard (10) and Alex Condon (10).

How It Happened…

Georgia got off to a strong start offensively, making its first seven attempts from the field including a pair of 3-pointers by Noah Thomasson. Russel Tchewa also made a couple of baskets in the paint to help the Bulldogs lead their lead out to 11, doubling the Gators up 22-11 with less than seven minutes in.

Florida responded with 15 of the next 22 points however to get back within a single score just past the midway point of the first half. Zyon Pullin pit a pair of 3-pointers before Thomas Haugh chipped in with three of his own, keeping it to no more than a seven-point UGA lead before the break as Georgia went into the locker room up 46-40.

Thomasson and Tchewa each were in double-figures at the half while Justin Hill was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field on his way to eight first-half points. Helping Georgia potentially even more than the consistent scoring however was the fact that the Bulldogs didn’t give up opportunities, limiting their turnover total to just four.

Florida tied it at 48 with a pair of 3-pointers in the first 1:20 of second-half action. It remained tied entering the first media timeout before the Gators took their first lead on a jumper by Alex Condon at the 14:53 mark.

Only further helping the Gators out in their start to the second half was the fact Georgia went over 10:00 without a field goal. While RJ Melendez, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Thomasson and Tchewa made from the free throw stripe, the Bulldogs made a field goal 31 seconds into the second half and didn’t make another one until the 9:17 mark when Blue Cain knocked down a 3-pointer to get UGA back within a bucket.

Georgia got its deficit down to one with a pair of made free throws by Abdur-Rahim, bringing the Bulldog count to 11-of-15 in the second half. Abdur-Rahim’s makes came with 8:15 to go. Unfortunately for UGA though, they were still being outscored by Florida by a significant margin in the second half.

While Georgia got to within three with just over a minute to go, failure to come up with the rebound after a forced Florida miss allowed the Gators to go to the free throw line. Haugh, who entered the game averaging 1.2 points per game in SEC play and just 3.2 points per game on the season, made one of the two free throws for his 17th point of the game – one that ended up being a difference in the final minute.

Entering the final third of SEC play, UGA is 14-11, 4-8 in SEC play, and currently finds itself fighting to stay out of the bottom four in the league – trying to avoid playing on Wednesday of the SEC Tournament. A pair of important games against a top-15 Auburn team remain, as do tough tests at home against Texas A&M and Ole Miss. Both teams are projected to be in the NCAA Tournament. Rounding out the slate are games one would consider winnable against Vanderbilt and LSU, but both come on the road.

Georgia is back in action on Wednesday as the Bulldogs make the trip to the Music City to take on Vanderbilt. Tip time against the Commodores is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.