• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Florida sinks Georgia for 15th win in row

Feb 8, 2007 - 6:09 AM ATHENS, Georgia (Ticker) -- Florida is leaving little doubt as to who is the nation's best team.

Corey Brewer scored 18 points as the top-ranked Gators eased past Georgia, 71-61, in a Southeastern Conference matchup.

Two days after becoming the first team in two years to earn a unanimous No. 1 ranking, Florida (22-2, 9-0 SEC East) extended its national-best winning streak to 15 games to remain unbeaten in conference play.

The Gators used a 14-3 run built on three 3-pointers to go ahead for good in the first half, then took control after the break by relying on its inside game.

Florida outscored Georgia, 17-7, to start the second half to open 53-37 lead on Al Horford's dunk with 10 1/2 minutes left in the game. All the Gators' points in that spurt came on either layups or dunks.

And when the Bulldogs (13-9, 5-5 East) crept within 11 points late in the game, Lee Humphrey buried his third 3-pointer to push the lead to 64-50 with just over 2 1/2 minutes left.

"Florida is the best team I've coached against," Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. "Their combination of size, athleticism and skill is what makes them so special. They outsized us and outskilled us tonight. We did a good job of containing the big drives, but they are just so special."

Horford had 17 points, Humphrey added 11 and Joakim Noah 10 for the Gators, who shot 52 percent (25-of-48) in beating the Bulldogs for the seventh consecutive time. Horford scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Georgia started off well, taking an 18-13 lead on Mike Mercer's dunk midway through the opening half.

Brewer nailed a 3-pointer and Humphrey connected twice from the arc as the Gators stormed back to take a 27-21 lead en route to a 36-30 halftime advantage.

Humphrey hit all three of his 3-point attempts and is 14-of-24 from the arc in his last four games against the Bulldogs.

Mercer scored 15 points to lead Georgia, which hit just 4-of-22 from the arc and tumbled to its third straight defeat.