Georgia guard Blue Cain sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining after No. 3 Florida took its first lead by scoring 13 unanswered points, and the Bulldogs beat the Gators 88-83 on Tuesday night.
Florida, which trailed by 26 points in the first half, rallied from a 78-67 deficit with the 13-0 run to lead 80-78. Cain’s 3-pointer ended the run.
[Related: Mike DeCourcy’s latest NCAA Tournament projections]
Georgia (17-11, 5-10 Southeastern Conference) boosted its hopes for its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015. The Bulldogs ended Florida’s 12-game winning streak in the series and gave coach Mike White his first win against his former Florida team. White had been 0-6 against the Gators.
Will Richard scored a career-high 30 points but Florida (24-4, 11-4) fell short of pulling off its second comeback in four days. The Gators rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to beat LSU 79-65 Saturday night.
Silas Demary Jr. led Georgia with 21 points. Asa Newell had 15.
Georgia fans obliged repeated requests from the public address announcer to give Florida’s team and officials 90 seconds to leave before charging the court. Fans then flooded the court.
Takeaways
Florida: Sophomore forward Alex Condon, who missed four games with a low ankle sprain, scored nine points.
Georgia: The Bulldogs’ last win over Florida was a 61-55 victory on March 2, 2019. Tyrin Lawrence had 14 points after missing three games with a hamstring injury.
Key moment
Thomas Haugh’s layup with 1:28 remaining gave the Gators their first lead at 79-78.
Key stat
The Gators’ 15 steals led to a 29-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
Up next
Both teams return to action on Saturday night, when Florida plays host to No. 12 Texas A&M and Georgia visits Texas.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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