Florida rides early eruption to down Georgia 70-63

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Colin Castleton scored 14 points and Tyree Appleby and Tre Mann each scored 13 and Florida led most of the way in a 70-63 win over Georgia on Saturday.

The win ended Florida's two-game losing streak and marked the first win for the Gators (11-6, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) since Jan. 30. Contests against LSU and Texas A&M were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Florida used an early — and decisive — 13-0 run to build a 20-8 lead and never trailed again. Appleby and Mann scored 12 of Florida's first 20 points. Later, Noah Locke buried a 3-pointer with 5:37 before halftime and Florida bloated its lead to 30-12.

Not until Florida removed its starters did Georgia (13-9, 6-9) draw within a single-digit deficit. Sahvir Wheeler made a pair of free throws with 1:44 to go to reduce the deficit to 66-58.

Castlejon made all five of his shot attempts off the bench and Ques Glover was 4-for-5 shooting off the bench. The Gators were 22-for-49 shooting and 20 for 25 from the foul line.

Wheeler led the Bulldogs with 27 points and Tye Fagan scored 14. Georgia missed 40 of its 64-shot attempts, including 16-missed 3s in 20 attempts.

The Bulldogs host LSU Tuesday. Florida heads to Auburn to face the Tigers Tuesday.

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