Florida Gators basketball survives Georgia in overtime at home

The Florida Gators basketball team left the crowd on pins and needles throughout the entirety of the game on Saturday. Georgia held a small lead for a majority of the game, but the Gators, again, found a way to win a hard-fought game.

The win marked Florida’s seventh straight victory to stay undefeated at home and in SEC play. The Gators are now 5-0 in conference play and have taken 14 straight games at home over the Bulldogs, a streak that goes back to 2002.

Florida relied on a couple of late free-throws by Kasey Hill to tie the game and a stop at the other end with just seven seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. After a couple of KeVaughn Allen free-throws to start the overtime period, the Gators led for all of overtime, except for a short-lived Georgia lead that lasted less than 20 seconds. Keith Stone took the lead back by draining a three to give the Gators a 72-70 advantage that they would not relinquish.

The Bulldogs brought the score back within a single point three more times after that but were quickly silenced by four high-pressure free-throws made easily by the underhand touch of Canyon Barry and a nice Allen layup. While Georgia kept it close, Florida had just enough left in the tank to come away with an 80-76 victory.

“We’ve had three or four now where we’ve been ugly at times and we’ve just found a way, a little bit of a different way,” said Mike White. “It’s a group that gets along well, that likes each other, pulls for each other. That said, you’re able to utilize your depth to its strength. We’ve got a little resiliency. We’ve got a pretty high level of confidence, I think. Obviously, if you play with fire a lot, you’re gonna get burned.”

The Gators have been playing with fire quite a bit over the last several weeks, but have not been burned yet. With continued lapses in consistency of play, it is likely coming sooner than later, but a win is a win for now.

The Florida bench came to the rescue to score 51 of 80 points in the game. It was once again the Barry and Stone show. The duo came in huge in the win at Alabama and did it again against Georgia. Stone posted season-highs in points (17), field goals made (5-for-6), three-pointers made (3-for-4), free-throws made (4-for-5) and steals (3).

Barry had a season-high and team-leading 27 points in the game. He was 7-for-13 from the field, 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. He also completed two four-point plays in the game. Barry and Stone made eight of Florida’s nine three-pointers in the game.

“He’s playing with a different level of confidence,” said White on Barry. “I really believe that. I think we all can see that. He’s just shooting the ball better. He’s shooting the ball better at practice. He’s shooting it better at shoot around, and it’s carrying over. I know he’s spent a lot of time in the gym. I know it’s really important to him.”

As for Barry, he couldn’t take any of the much-deserved credit for himself. He gave all of the credit to his teammates for finding open looks for him and to the home crowd for helping give the Gators the energy that they couldn’t find at the start of the game.
“I’ve gotta give credit to the point guards,” said Barry. “Obviously, when you make your first shot, it helps with your confidence, but they kept finding me in open spots and I was able to knock them down.”

“It’s a huge atmosphere and I just can’t thank them enough,” he said. “It’s so fun to play out there. They’re here every game, all the fans around Gainesville. The O’Dome is the most fun place I’ve ever played at.”

The crowd played a big factor in the game, especially down the stretch when the game was on the line. The environment was taken to a different level than it has been at home all season. White even said that the game would’ve had a great chance of going the other way had the Gators been on the road.

Florida will have to rely on more than an energy boost from the home crowd next game, as the team heads to South Carolina to try to remain undefeated in conference play this season.

 

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.