Clayton Jr., Haugh lead surging Florida to 88-82 victory over Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. -- — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 points, backup forward Thomas Haugh added 17 points and some key plays in the final two minutes, and Florida defeated Georgia 88-82 on Saturday.

Haugh's driving layup with 1:47 remaining put the Gators ahead 83-77 then Noah Thomason hit a 3-pointer to get Georgia within 83-80. With 50 seconds left, Haugh grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer and drew a foul from Thomason. Haugh hit 1 of 2 free throws for an 84-80 lead and the Gators closed out the win when Zyon Pullin made four free throws in the final 22 seconds.

After shooting 60% in the first half and leading 46-40 at halftime, Georgia opened the second half in a 1-for-9 shooting slump and Florida surged ahead 61-53. Clayton scored seven points and Alex Condon five to lead the Gators' rally. Florida also turned eight Georgia turnovers into 11 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

Georgia didn't hit its second shot in the second half until Blue Cain hit a 3-pointer to make it 63-60 near the nine-minute mark. But the Bulldogs were cashing in at the free-throw line, making 11 of 15 in those first 11 minutes of the half. Two free throws by Jabri Abdur-Rahim made it 63-62 going into the under-8 timeout.

Pullin finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Florida (18-7, 8-4 SEC), which won for the seventh time in the past eight games. Condon and Will Richard finished with 10 points each for the Gators.

Thomason scored 26 points to lead Georgia (14-11, 4-8). Russel Tchewa scored 15 points, Justin Hill 14 and Abdur-Rahim 10.

Georgia made 9 of 10 shots to open the game, including four in a row from Thomason. The Bulldogs led 22-11 after a couple of free throws from Hill.

Florida kept it close by hitting five 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the half. Haugh hit the last of those 3-pointers to get the Gators within 42-40 with 2 1/2 minutes left but Hill and Thomason hit jumpers to give Georgia a 46-40 lead at the break. Thomason scored 17 in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3 of 5 3-pointers.

Florida leads the all-time series 124-103 with an 11-game winning streak that dates to the 2020 season.

Florida plays at Alabama on Wednesday. Georgia hits the road and will play at Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

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