Florida Gators beat Georgia in Athens, 88-82

ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia men’s basketball team lost to Florida, 88-82, before 10,523 spectators on Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.

Noah Thomasson led all scorers with a season-best 26 points, knocking down five of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. Russel Tchewa scored 15 while Justin Hill contributed 14 points and four assists. Jabri Abdur-Rahim also reached double figures with 10 points, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs (14-11, 4-8 SEC) turned the ball over 14 times, seven of which were stolen by the Gators (18-7, 8-4 SEC).

The Bulldogs opened the game by hitting their first seven shots led by Thomasson knocking down his first four buckets and a pair of 3-pointers before the first media timeout. The Houston, Texas-native got up to 17 points to close out the first half, helping Georgia create a 46-40 advantage headed to the locker room. Florida opened the second period on a 12-4 run, giving the team its first lead of the afternoon. Georgia trailed 58-53 at the under-12 media timeout due in part to seven turnovers to begin the half and being held without a field goal for just over 10 minutes. Blue Cain ended the drought with his first made shot from beyond the arc on the afternoon, putting the Bulldogs down three with over nine minutes remaining. Georgia again found itself down, 83-80, after Thomasson knocked in his fifth 3-pointer. The team was unable to come back, though, with Florida sinking key free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Georgia’s next contest will come in Nashville as the Bulldogs take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gymnasium. The game, which will be televised on the SEC Network, is set to tip off on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The programs have split their previous 10 meetings dating back to Jan. 17, 2017.

Five Fast Facts

• This is the 228th all-time meeting between Georgia and Florida. The Bulldogs lead the series in Athens 63-45.

• Noah Thomasson led the team with 17 points in the first half, marking his his 51st double digit point game.

• By reaching 15 points on Saturday afternoon, Russel Tchewa now has 31 career double-digit games.

• In the first half, Georgia held the lead for 19:12 and never trailed.

• Thomasson finished with 26 points, which marks the 23rd time reaching at least 20 points. He also notched five 3-pointers, which is a career best.

Key Quote

Head Coach Mike White: “I think that the road team, when they can collect some turnovers, get out in transition, and get some easy ones, generally speaking, sometimes that fuels you a little bit, defensively. I thought [Florida’s] Pullin did a great job defensively in the second half staying in front of our guards, but again you take 10, you can take some of the empty possessions – an open three, a good look, a free throw didn’t go – we can’t control all of that. We’re going to continue to preach here that you can win games despite that, but the other 10 possessions – the turnovers – it’s easier to control some of those. You get six or seven of those back, instead of 82 you probably have 90. We still gave up too many.”