Georgia Bulldogs come up short vs. Florida, 57-53

The Georgia Bulldogs drop their 10th game of the season, as they lose to the arch rival Florida Gators for the second time this year, 57-53 at Stegeman.

The Georgia Bulldogs let one slip away at home, as they fall Tuesday night at home to the arch rival Florida Gators, 57-53. This was a must-win game for the Dawgs to have any shot at making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. Instead the Georgia Bulldogs dropped the second of two biannual games versus Florida to fall to 14-10 on the year and 7-6 in SEC play.

Georgia continues to struggle shooting the basketball, connecting on only 32.3% of their field goal attempts, despite playing a strong defensive first half. UGA held Florida to only 36.4% shooting from the field and surrendered only 19 first half points to the Gators.

The problem was that UGA’s defense and lack of execution on offense let them down in the second half, being outscored 38-28 after halftime. Georgia held a 25-19 lead entering the half.

The Georgia Bulldogs had three of their starters in double figures scoring against the Florida Gators Tuesday night in a narrow defeat. Senior Kenny Gaines led the Dawgs with 12 points on 4-11 shooting with all four of his makes coming from the long distance. Gaines was 4-9 shooting from beyond the arc and nearly had himself a double-double with nine rebounds and an assist.

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Yante Maten had a miserable night shooting the basketball in the frontcourt for the Georgia Bulldogs. While he did finish with 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and an assist, Maten was 4-17 from the field. One of his field goals was a made three-pointer, his only attempt from three against Florida. He was also 2-2 at the free throw line.

J.J. Frazier had 10 points on 4-10 shooting, five assists, and three rebounds. Charles Mann again failed to reach 10 points against Florida, something he has never accomplished against the Gators. He had 7 points on 2-11 shooting, five assists three rebounds, and a steal.

While the two stars for the Georgia Bulldogs against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Charles Mann and Yante Maten, combined for 18 points on 6-28 shooting, freshman Derek Ogbeide continues to grow in SEC play and had a very nice game for the Dawgs. Ogbeide had eight points on 4-5 shooting and six rebounds. He was the only player on the Georgia Bulldogs to shoot over 50.0% from the floor against Florida.

Next: Georgia Bulldogs win on the road in Starkville, 66-57

Georgia had a terrific opportunity to potentially move into the top four in the SEC with an eighth conference win, as both the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Texas A&M Aggies are reeling. Instead Georgia will have to face a surging Vanderbilt Commodores team in Nashville on Saturday after another tough loss to the Florida Gators. If UGA wants to make the NCAA Tournament in 2016, they will have to do so as the SEC Tournament Champion.