Richard his 5 3s, scores 24 as Florida beats Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. -- — Will Richard hit five 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, Myreon Jones had a double-double and Florida beat Georgia 77-67 on Tuesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Florida secured a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament, which begins March 8 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jones made 6 of 9 from the field and finished with 14 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Riley Kugel added 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting for Florida (15-15, 8-9).

Kario Oquendo scored 11 points and Justin Hill added seven in a 22-12 spurt to open the second half and trim Georgia's deficit to 57-55 when Hill capped the run with two free throws. Richard answered with 3-pointer and the Bulldogs got no closer.

Oquendo led Georgia (16-14, 6-11) with 20 points, Hill scored 16 and Braelen Bridges had 10 but that trio combined to shoot 32% (14 of 44) from the field, 1 of 14 from 3-point range.

Richard hit a 3-pointer and Jones followed with a 3 and a layup before Richard capped an 11-0 run with a basket from behind the arc to make it 37-28 with 2:18 left in the first half and Florida led the rest of the way. Richard scored six more points before halftime — including a 3-pointer as time expired — to give the Gators a 10-point halftime lead.

UP NEXT

Florida wraps up the regular season at home against LSU on Saturday.

Georgia plays at South Carolina on Saturday to conclude its regular season.

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