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Florida dominates Georgia

Jan 11, 2012 - 5:30 AM Gainesville, FL (Sports Network) - Freshman guard Bradley Beal finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 19 Florida used a dominant performance to earn its first conference victory, a 70-48 decision against Georgia.

The Gators lost Saturday at Tennessee in their SEC opener, thanks to a poor shooting performance and turnovers. Beal shot 4-of-12 and had a team-high five turnovers in that contest.

But he turned it around Tuesday, making 4-of-6 three-pointers and -- perhaps more importantly -- turning the ball over only once. The effort, along with 17 points from Kenny Boynton, helped Florida (13-4, 1-1 SEC) to its third win in four games.

Nemanja Djurisic netted 14 points for the Bulldogs (9-7, 0-2), who were coming off Saturday's home loss to Alabama.

Florida led from the start, scoring the game's first seven points and using another seven-point burst to build an 18-9 lead just past the midway point of the half. Mike Rosario alone fueled the run, with a three-point play, a jumper and a layup.

After Djurisic followed with a bucket, the Gators went on a 15-2 run to take control. Beal drilled three shots from behind the arc during the stretch, and Florida went into the break with a 35-21 advantage.

"I thought we did a pretty good job defensively," said Florida coach Billy Donovan. "I thought our effort was there."

The Bulldogs never caught up. Shortly into the second half, Erving Walker made a jumper that started an 11-1 run. He made a three moments later, then finished the rally with a three-point play.

The basket made it a 52-27 contest with a little under 12 minutes to go, and Florida cruised from there.

Game Notes

The Gators shot 50 percent and committed only six turnovers...Patric Young finished with 10 boards and eight points for Florida...Georgia made 36.4 percent of its shots.