Gators Outlast Pesky Dawgs in Overtime Thriller, 102-98

After seeing its 21-point lead dissipate, Florida rallied to outlast Georgia in overtime, 102-98.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida struggled to close, but it got the job done.

After squandering a 21-point second-half lead, the Florida Gators used the five-minute overtime period to down the visiting Georgia Bulldogs in Gainesville on Saturday, 102-98.

Todd Golden's unit moves to 14-6 (4-3 SEC) on the year, extending its active winning streak to three, while Mike White and Co. drop to 14-6 (4-3 SEC).

The Gators burst out of the gate to quickly mount a sizable margin over the Bulldogs, winning through their ability to attack the rim with five dunks in the first 4:28 of action.

They built the lead to as much as 16 in the first half, initially opening it up to 15 points before weathering the storm created by RJ Melendez off the bench. Georgia's junior wing knocked down back-to-back triples to trim the deficit to nine before connecting on two tries from the charity stripe two minutes later to pull the Bulldogs within five.

However, despite his efforts to will his team back in the first half, Florida quickly surged again.

Will Richard, on the receiving end of a dish from Alex Condon, slashed to the basket and slammed home a dunk to kickstart the ensuing 12-5 scoring run over the next 2:36.

As a result, Florida entered the break, leading Georgia by 13 points, 47-34.

The second half brought more fruitful production from the Gators on both ends of the floor through the first seven minutes. UF went up 21 at the 12:44 mark.

Then, UGA began to chip away.

The Bulldogs hit 61.8% of their shots from the floor, including five threes in the second half, to fight back into the contest.

True freshman guard Blue Cain's five points in the final 1:30, first connecting on a corner triple before getting to the rim for a game-tying field goal on the ensuing possession, helped Georgia complete their second-half comeback effort, ultimately sending the contest to overtime knotted at 85 a piece.

But, it proved to be in vain as the Gators outlasted the Dawgs in overtime to produce the 102-98 victory.

Five Florida players, Micah Handlogten (23), Zyon Pullin (20), Richard (18), Walter Clayton Jr. (18) and Condon (10), scored in double digits on the day, catalyzing the unit's 55% shooting performance. 

Melendez led Georgia with 35 points — including six threes. Justin Hill, Blue Cain and Russel Tchewa supplemented his effort to elicit the tightly contested finish.

UF knocked down 85% of its attempts from the charity stripe — connecting on 17 of 20 attempts and hitting all seven in overtime  — while UGA made just 53%, a discrepancy that proved to be a notable factor in the contest's outcome.

The Gators will hit the road to Lexington on Wednesday, aiming to build on their three-game win streak against a Kentucky team they took to the wire at home on Jan. 6.

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