Dogs Hold Off Gators

Bill Sanders for the AJC
Tired, schmired. Good teams win when tired. And while Georgia might not yet be considered a good team, it took a step in that direction Saturday.


.On the heels of an exhausting battle less than 48 hours earlier in Nashville, Georgia withstood a furious Florida rally Saturday, winning 78-76 and showing that it was more tired of losing than anything else.



“It was important for us to pick ourselves off the mat and come beat Florida,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “Getting close is not what we came here to do, and I think our guys are starting to expect to win, and they’re beginning to believe that they are a pretty solid little team.”



Georgia improved to 13-14 and 5-9 in the SEC and play Kentucky on Wednesday night in Athens. Florida fell to 20-9 and 9-5 in the SEC.



After a 96-94 loss at Vanderbilt on Thursday night, Fox told his bench -- a group that he has maligned at times -- to be ready to play Saturday, and be ready to play well.



Ebuka Anyaorah, Vincent Williams and Demario Mayfield, not household names even in Bulldogs homes -- all contributed minutes, points and defensive stands.



In the end, Fox chose those three to address the media, rather than the starters.



“Our bench has been criticized, by me for one, but I really thought they helped us tonight,” he said. “Mayfield has waited for his turn all year, and he got it. Ebuka gave us some big minutes, too. I told them we were going to play a lot of people today.”



The box score won’t do the bench justice, unless you go to the very last stat -- minutes played. Anyaorah: 14; Williams: 15; Mayfield: 4.



Jeremy Price, who has been Georgia’s biggest bench player for most of the season, was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, scoring 13 points in 22 minutes.



“We knew with the Thursday-Saturday schedule, our starters were worn out,” Anyaorah said. “We tried to make an impact, and I think the whole bench brought a lot of energy. I’m here to help however Coach needs me. If I’m needed to sit on the bench, that’s fine.”



Florida unraveled a bit early, as Georgia went on a 14-0 run midway through the first half. Florida coach Billy Donovan was hit with a technical foul for arguing, and 13 minutes into the game, the Gators had only one basket from inside the 3-point line.



Georgia then ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 15-point lead to the locker room.



Georgia maintained the double-digit lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half. But then, as has happened many times before, the lead dwindled, this time until it was almost gone.



“We were fortunate the clock ran out,” Fox said. “We didn’t guard well in the second half. We looked sluggish and heavy-legged.”



Leading 78-76 with 1:16 to play, Trey Thompkins missed a 15-footer, giving Florida the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.



The Gators did neither, as Erving Walker’s running jumper bounced out and into Thompkins’ hands. But Georgia, milking the clock, failed to get off a shot before the shot clock expired.



Florida called timeout and had 13.3 seconds to try to tie or take the lead. They were unable to get off a shot either, as Thompkins batted away a pass from Dan Werner with less than one second to play.



Thompkins led Georgia with 20 points. Chandler Parsons had 29 for Florida.