ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia dropped its sixth straight game on Saturday, losing 88-82 to Florida before 10,523 spectators on Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.
Noah Thomasson led all scorers with a season-best 26 points, knocking down five of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. Russel Tchewa scored 15 while Justin Hill contributed 14 points and four assists. Jabri Abdur-Rahim also reached double figures with 10 points, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs (14-11, 4-8 SEC) turned the ball over 14 times, seven of which were stolen by the Gators (18-7, 8-4 SEC).
“Offense and defense. Turnovers, live ball turnovers, continue to harm us in some of these close games," Georgia coach Mike White said. "If we take away live ball turnovers and a couple of their offensive rebounds, we’d probably be sitting here feeling a lot different."
Georgia opened the game by hitting its first seven shots, led by Thomasson knocking down his first four buckets, including a pair of 3-pointers before the first media timeout. The Houston, Texas-native got up to 17 points to close out the first half, helping Georgia create a 46-40 advantage headed to the locker room.
Florida opened the second period on a 12-4 run, giving the team its first lead of the afternoon. Georgia trailed 58-53 at the under-12 media timeout due in part to seven turnovers to begin the half and being held without a field goal for just over 10 minutes. Blue Cain ended the drought with his first made shot from beyond the arc on the afternoon, putting the Bulldogs down three with over nine minutes remaining.
"I thought [Florida's] Pullin did a great job defensively in the second half staying in front of our guards, but again you take 10, you can take some of the empty possessions - an open three, a good look, a free throw didn't go - we can't control all of that," White said. "We're going to continue to preach here that you can win games despite that, but the other 10 possessions - the turnovers - it's easier to control some of those. You get six or seven of those back, instead of 82 you probably have 90. We still gave up too many."
Georgia again found itself down, 83-80, after Thomasson knocked in his fifth 3-pointer. The team was unable to come back, though, with Florida sinking key free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Georgia’s next contest will come on Wednesday in Nashville as the Bulldogs take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gymnasium.
