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Humphrey, Florida need second-half push vs. Georgia

Jan 7, 2007 - 2:20 AM GAINESVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- It took a half for Lee Humphrey and Florida to make the adjustment to conference play.

Humphrey scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half as third-ranked Florida eventually pulled away for a 67-51 victory over Georgia in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools.

Corey Brewer added nine of his 19 points after intermission and Joakim Noah eight of 13 for the Gators (14-2, 1-0 SEC), who captured their sixth straight win over the Bulldogs.

Trailing 26-25 at the break, Florida retook the lead on a three-point play by Brewer 49 seconds into the second half.

Humphrey added a layup about 40 seconds later and, after a 3-pointer by Georgia's Sundiata Gaines, Florida rolled off a 14-5 run that put it up, 44-34, on a jumper by Al Horford with 10:57 remaining.

The Bulldogs (8-5, 0-1) clawed back within 47-42 on a 3-pointer by Steve Newman with 9:11 left, but Chris Richard and Horford both had a layup to push the edge to 51-42 with 7:49 remaining.

Noah finished with 13 rebounds and Brewer added 10 boards and seven assists for the Gators, who shot 52 percent (16-of-31) after the break.

Humphrey went 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and Taurean Green added nine despite 3-of-14 shooting, including 0-of-5 from the arc. The junior point guard came into the game as the team leader in 3-point shooting at 46 percent (32-of-70).

Despite a sizable advantage against Georgia, Florida struggled early, shooting just 38.5 percent (10-of-26) and getting outrebounded, 22-12.

Falling behind, 11-5, in the opening four-plus minutes, the Gators tied the score at 13-13 on the only 3-pointer by Brewer.

Florida later threw together an 11-0 run to pull ahead, 24-17, with 5:28 to play. Noah had five points during the burst.

However, Georgia answered right back with a 9-0 run that Rashaad Singleton capped on a dunk with 1:35 remaining.

The Gators were only able to manage one more point before the half as Brewer missed three of four free throws. Overall, Florida went just 9-of-18 (50 percent) from the stripe.

Newman, Takais Brown and Billy Humphrey all scored 10 points for Georgia, which shot 39 percent (22-of-57) from the field in absorbing its fourth straight loss.