Walter Clayton Jr. delivered 17 points, five assists and five steals and No. 5 Florida overwhelmed Georgia with its rabid defense in an 89-59 win on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.
Alijah Martin scored all 17 of his points in the first half and Will Richard supplied 16 points for the Gators (18-2, 5-2 SEC) who won their 12th in a row over the Bulldogs.
Thomas Haugh had the second double-double of his career, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Condon added 14 points and eight rebounds for Florida, which trailed for just 11 seconds on its way to beating its former coach Mike White for the sixth straight time.
The Gators did it with a frenzied defense that forced the Bulldogs to commit 18 turnovers, with all but four coming in the first half. Florida outscored Georgia off the mistakes 29-11.
Florida made 53.1 percent of its shots and 9 of 26 (34.6 percent) from 3-point range, while Georgia hit 35.6 percent from the floor and 5 of 21 (23.8 percent) from deep.
The Gators’ defense prevented the Bulldogs from playing their patient offense, which relies on points from the paint. Georgia’s top scorer, Asa Newell, a freshman, had his season low with eight points.
Blue Cain scored 10 points, all in the first half, to lead the Bulldogs (14-6, 2-5), who dropped their fourth in a row.
Martin got Florida off to a quick start, setting the tone by making three steals in the first four minutes.
Martin also cashed in at the other end with two 3-pointers, a breakaway slam, a layup and a free throw as the Gators took a 16-11 lead just 5:07 into the game.
With the defense fueling the offense, Florida made eight straight shots during one stretch in the first half.
Later in the period, in a span of less than three minutes, Richard made a trio of 3-pointers as the Gators doubled up the Bulldogs at 38-19.
Florida got its biggest lead of the first half when Clayton made a backcourt steal and fed Martin for a breakaway tomahawk slam that made it 51-24.
In the second half, Clayton triggered a 10-0 spree with three driving layups. The burst put the Gators up 67-37 midway through the period.
