Gators lose a game to Georgia they had no business losing

Will Richard goes high off the glass for a driving layup (UAA Photo)

There are two ways to look at 3rd-ranked Florida’s disappointing 88-83 loss to Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) in Athens Tuesday night. First and probably foremost, the Gators (24-4, 11-4 SEC) played their worst 20 minutes of defense in a first half in which they fell behind by as many as 26 points and over the course of the game bricked too many free throws. Second, despite falling behind 39-13 in the first 12:14 of the game, the Gators came back, actually took the lead with 1:28 to go, and had a legitimate shot to win what would have been the most remarkable comeback in Florida basketball history.

Obviously, point number two doesn’t matter. This isn’t like lobbing a hand grenade and getting close to the target. The bottom line is the Gators lost a game they had no business losing. Play Georgia 10 times and odds are the Gators win nine times. The one time they lose they forget all about defending the 3-point line in the first half and go 18-29 at the foul line. A couple of defensive stops, a few made free throws and we’re talking about how the Gators won in spite of themselves.

Instead, it’s a head-shaking loss that makes no sense at all. Georgia is a very difficult team to beat in Athens, but this is a Florida team that went into Neville Arena and stuck it to No. 1 Auburn. When the Gators are good, they’re very, very good.

When they get off to such a dismal start as they did Tuesday night, they are very, very beatable.

Despite playing so poorly in the first half and for stretches in the second half, the Gators did roar back to make a game of it. Bad teams pack it in when they can’t get it going at both ends of the floor while the other team is making shots it hasn’t made all season long. Good teams never give up and keep fighting even when it seems they’re teetering on the verge of sinking like the Titanic.

Fighting wasn’t Florida’s problem. Keeping Georgia from making shots was. The same Georgia team that had more scuds in its arsenal than Saddam Hussein in Gainesville went 7-9 from the 3-point line in the first half and 19-28 overall.

“They made a lot of shots,” Florida coach Todd Golden said, an obvious understatement. “We didn’t make them miss enough. That’s really all it was.”

Florida, meanwhile, was in China Syndrome meltdown the first 12:14. Georgia might have missed a few shots if the Gators had gotten hands in their faces or cut off driving lanes. At the other end of the court, the Gators couldn’t get anything to go in the paint and shots weren’t falling from the perimeter.

“We just put ourselves in too big of a hole,” Golden said. “Obviously, getting down by 26 points 13 minutes into the game is not ideal when you're trying to win a basketball game.”

From the point where the Gators trailed by 26, they outscored Georgia 70-49 the rest of the way. The Bulldogs who couldn’t miss in the first half came back down to earth. When Tommy Haugh scored on a fast break layup with 1:28 to go, the Gators had their first lead of the game at 79-78. There would be a chance to extend the lead to three, but Alijah Martin missed the first of two free throws with 1:08 to go and that proved critical since Blue Cain nailed a dagger of a three with 47 seconds to go that allowed the Bulldogs to regain the lead at 81-80.

There was still plenty of time for the Gators to pull the game out, but as hot as they were in the 13-0 run that put them in position to win, they went ice cold after the Cain 3-ball. A turnover, a pair of missed threes and fouls that allowed Georgia to hit 7-8 of their free throws ended any hopes of a miracle Florida comeback.

It shouldn’t have taken a miracle comeback to beat Georgia. Stuff like that happens, however, when you play defense with feet that seem set in concrete and it takes most of the game to get someone other than Will Richard involved in the offense.

Given room to load and launch, the Bulldogs were living in can’t miss heaven until the Gators came off life support in the final 7:46 of the half. That’s when Richard became a one-man gang. The Gators were down 39-13 when Richard heated up, scoring all 17 of Florida’s final 22 first half points as the Gators cut Georgia’s margin to 51-35 at the intermission.

Richard, who scored 30 points to go with five rebounds, three assists and three steals, scored seven of Florida’s first 10 second half points when the offense continued showing signs of life. After seven minutes of trading baskets, Micah Handlogten scored on a stickback with 12:59 left that reduced the margin to 66-51. That spark spread quickly into a fire as the Gators scored the next six points, a free throw by Alijah Martin at 11:08 cutting the deficit down to single digits for the first time since the 15:51 mark of the first half.

Georgia built the lead back to 12 but Handlogten tipped in a missed shot with 7:53 left and once again, it seemed to ignite the Gators. Richard heated up again, hitting a stepback jumper with 7:04 to go that got the Gators back within eight and a three with 6:21 left to cut Georgia’s lead to 74-67.

Georgia scored the next four points but didn’t score again until Cain’s dagger three. In between the Gators played with a furious purpose at both ends of the floor, going on a 13-0 run that was fueled by a pair of threes by Walter Clayton Jr. and Alex Condon going 4-4 at the foul line.

Haugh’s layup with 1:28 to go gave the Gators their first lead of the game at 79-78. Alijah Martin was fouled on his way to the rim after a steal, but he made only 1-2 from the line, negating a chance for the Gators to go up by three.

When Cain came off a double screen for the 3-pointer that enabled Georgia to regain the lead at 81-80, the Gators seemed to run out of gas. Georgia pulled away on 7-8 shooting from the foul line although Clayton did offer a ray of hope when he went 3-3 from the line when fouled in the act of shooting with 6.4 seconds to go in the game.

So Georgia got a win that could very well punch the Bulldogs’ ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Florida has no NCAA worries although this loss does make a No. 1 seed a shaky proposition. The comeback was heroic, but the loss was disappointing and unnecessary even with the worst first half the Gators have played all season.

“There were a lot of things that we could've done better, but at the end of the day we also didn't shoot the free throws very well tonight,” Golden said. “We left a lot … we made four less free throws than they did on two more attempts. That was kind of the story of the game from the field, as well. We shot 66 shots (made 27), they only shot 52 (made 28). The math is usually going to go in your favor when that happens. But again, they had an elite first half. Multiple guys played very, very well. A 26-point hole is not something you generally want to put yourself in when you're trying to win a basketball game."

The Gators will be home Saturday night against 11th-ranked Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC).

Game notes: Richard (30) and Clayton (18) were the only Gators to score in double figures. Clayton also had five rebounds and five assists… At one point in the first half, the Gators were being outrebounded 16-7 by Georgia. Florida outrebounded the Bulldogs 27-16 the rest of the way … The Gators were 11-32 on 3-pointers, 6-15 in the second half … Georgia outscored the Gators 32-16 in the paint. The Gators outscored Georgia 29-12 off turnovers.

SEC BASKETBALL

Tuesday scores

Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) 88, No. 3 FLORIDA (24-4, 11-4 SEC) 83

No. 5 Tennessee (23-5, 10-5 SEC) 65, LSU (14-14, 3-12 SEC) 59

No. 6 Alabama (23-5, 12-3 SEC) 111, No. 24 Mississippi State (19-9, 7-8 SEC) 73

No. 14 Missouri (21-7, 10-5 SEC) 101, South Carolina (11-17, 1-14 SEC) 71

Wednesday’s games

Ole Miss (19-8, 8-6 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (25-2, 13-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (18-9, 6-8 SEC) at No. 12 Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC)

No. 17 Kentucky (18-9, 7-7 SEC) at Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC)

Texas (16-11, 5-9 SEC) at Arkansas (16-11, 5-9 SEC)

Saturday’s games

No. 7 Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC) at No. 3 FLORIDA (24-4, 11-4 SEC)

No. 1 Auburn (25-2, 13-1 SEC) at No. 17 Kentucky (18-9, 9-5 SEC)

No. 6 Alabama (23-5, 12-3 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (23-5, 10-5 SEC)

No. 14 Missouri (21-7, 10-5 SEC) at Vanderbilt (18-9, 6-8 SEC)

LSU (14-14, 3-12 SEC) at No. 24 Mississippi State (19-9, 7-8 SEC)

Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 8-6 SEC)

Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) at Texas (16-11, 5-9 SEC)

Arkansas (16-11, 5-9 SEC) at South Carolina (11-17, 1-14 SEC)

UF BASEBALL: GATORS SNUFF OUT STETSON, 6-1

Held hitless through the first four innings, the 7th-ranked Gators (8-0) methodically pounded out a 6-1 win over Stetson (4-4) in DeLand Tuesday night.

Blake Cyr, who broke up the no-hitter with a double in the fifth. Cyr homered in the seventh to give the Gators the lead for good, 2-1. In the eighth, Cade Kurland hit his third homer in the last two games, a 3-run job that put the Hatters away.

Billy Barlow got the start for UF, going four innings while giving up five hits and a run in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Aidan King came on to pitch three perfect innings while striking out four to collect his first collegiate win. Alex Philpott gave up a hit and two walks while striking out two in the eighth and ninth.

Colby Shelton and Cyr each had two hits to pace Florida’s 9-hit attack.

“Overall, it was a really good win over a really good Stetson team,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I think they are picked win their conference, so we knew coming down here it was going to be a difficult game."

The Gators will be home tonight at Condron Family Ballpark to face North Florida (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+). The Gators will be home all weekend for their annual series with Miami.