It would’ve been Florida’s largest comeback this season. However, senior guard Will Richard’s career-night heroics weren’t enough against Georgia.
Midway through the first half, the Gators were on upset watch — largely due to a lights out performance by UGA to open the contest. Though, what was once a 26-point advantage for the Bulldogs shrank to seven points with under seven minutes left in regulation after two timely jumpers from Richard.
Florida’s unimaginable comeback almost came to fruition. Richard had a chance to potentially send the game into overtime and cap off what had already proven to be a career night. With 23 seconds left in the second half, the senior guard put up a potential game-tying 3-pointer — but it rimmed out.
Despite a fierce second-half comeback that would’ve been etched into its history books, No. 3 Florida (24-4, 11-4 SEC) fell 88-83 to Georgia (17-11, 5-10 SEC) in Athens on Tuesday.
Richard had a career night, as the Georgia native scored a career-high 30 points with five 3-pointers on 11-of -17 shooting from the field. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.
Fellow senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. was the only other Gator to finish with double-digits, scoring 18 points. UF sophomore forward Alex Condon added nine in his first game back since injuring his ankle on Feb. 11 at Mississippi State.
For the second straight game, Florida got off to a bit of a sluggish start. In its contest against LSU last Saturday, UF could not flip the switch until it faced a six-point deficit at the halftime break. However, in Athens, UF got things going too late.
The Gators experienced an over-three-minute scoring drought in the opening moments of the first half. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs didn’t have trouble getting into the scoring column.
UGA shot 7 for 10 from the field and 3 for 5 from 3-point range in the first five-plus minutes to take a 17-5 advantage. From there, a 10-0 run midway through the first half, capped off by a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr, allowed the Bulldogs to separate. By this point, Georgia had grabbed its biggest lead of the game.
Richard kept Florida afloat in the final minutes before halftime. The senior guard buried a deep ball, finished a transition layup and flushed a dunk that cut Georgia’s lead down to 43-22. The Bulldogs ended up taking a 51-35 advantage into the break.
When UF took to the court for the second half, it appeared to have a different sense of urgency. Richard got the ball rolling with a pair of layups just over three minutes in, shrinking UGA’s lead to 15.
Entering the midway point of the second half, there was still enough time for the Gators to muster a heroic comeback, and Richard seemed up to the task. The senior guard made a free throw amid a 9-2 streak for UF that cut UGA’s lead down to 66-57.
The aforementioned timely jumpers from Richard in clutch time consisted of a silky 2-point stepback jumper and a 3-pointer less than one minute later that cut UF’s deficit to seven. Florida showed no signs of quitting as the game came down to the wire.
A 13-0 run gave the Gators their first (and only) lead of the game, 80-78. Clayton Jr. knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and Condon made four free throws in that span. Nevertheless, Georgia was able to hold off the late UF surge to secure a court-storming upset victory.
The Bulldogs were red-hot in this one. UGA shot 28-of-52 (54%) from the field and 10-of-18 (56%) from behind the arc. Demary Jr. led the way with a team-high 21 points and four 3-pointers for the Bulldogs.
UF’s free throw shooting hindered its success in the critical moments of the ballgame. In turn, Florida shot just 18-of-29 (62%) from the charity stripe. Moreover, the Gators shot 41% from 2-point range and 34% from distance despite scoring 29 points off 17 turnovers.
Next, College GameDay will be in Gainesville for Florida’s highly anticipated matchup against No. 12 Texas A&M. Tipoff between the Gators and Aggies is set for Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
