The Florida Gators (19-5, 9-2) blew a 16-point lead but rallied to knock off Georgia (13-11, 4-7) 72-60 on Tuesday night in Athens.
The Gators came into the game with four consecutive wins, all of which by more than 20 points, and looked like another rout may be in the cards in this contest. However, after Florida built a 16-point lead, Georgia answered with a 15-0 run late in the first half and went into halftime trailing 35-33. The Bulldogs were unable to carry that momentum into the second half, thanks in part to a stifling Florida defense that held Georgia to 27 second half points. Florida also forced sixteen Georgia turnovers and finished with an 18-6 advantage in points off turnovers that would prove to be key.
Chris Chiozza led Florida with 15 points while Kasey Hill added a dozen points and five assists in the winning effort. Georgia's Yante Maten scored 19 points to lead all scorers while J.J. Frazier scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds - those were the only two Bulldogs to score in double figures.
Florida returns home to battle Texas A&M on Saturday. Tipoff from Gainesville is set for high noon on Saturday and can be heard with pregame coverage beginning at 11:25 AM on 620 WDAE & 95.3 FM.