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.