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Florida handles shorthanded Georgia, ends losing skid

Feb 10, 2008 - 3:35 AM GAINESVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- In the end, Georgia just did not have enough personnel to extended Florida's woes.

Chandler Parsons scored 18 points as the No. 22 Gators snapped a two-game losing streak with a 77-67 victory over the Bulldogs in a Southeastern Conference contest on Saturday.

Walter Hodge scored 14 points and freshman Jai Lucas added 13 for Florida (19-5, 6-3 SEC East), which topped Georgia for the ninth consecutive time and improved to 16-2 in their last 18 meetings.

The Bulldogs' chance of ending their woes against the Gators and potentially hand Florida its first three-game losing streak of the year took a big blow when junior guard Billy Humphrey was suspended on Thursday.

The second-leading scorer for Georgia, Humphrey was suspended for three games after being arrested for underage drinking early Thursday morning. It was his second arrest in less than three months.

Despite the big loss, the Bulldogs were able to stick with the Gators through most of the first half before falling behind, 43-36, as Florida went into intermission on a 13-6 run. Parsons had 10 of his 13 first-half points in the spurt.

A reserve, the 6-9 Parsons finished 6-of-9 from the field with three 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds.

Behind Parsons, Florida finished with a dominating 27-0 advantage in bench points.

Georgia made a big push after play resumed, closing within 48-47 on a 3-pointer by Sundiata Gaines with just over 3 1/2 minutes expired.

It was one of four baskets from the arc by Gaines, who finished with a career-high 32 points.

However, Florida then ripped off a 20-6 run, building a 68-53 cushion on a 3-pointer by freshman Nick Calathes with 8:30 to play.

It was the only basket from the arc in seven attempts for Calathes, who leads the Gators in 3-pointers made with 37. He also had six assists as Florida finished with 20 on 28 made field goals.

Dan Werner had 10 points and a career-high seven steals and Marreese Speights added six points and 10 rebounds for the Gators, who finished with 29 points off of 20 turnovers by the Bulldogs.

Gaines finished 11-of-20 from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists.

Dave Bliss had 13 points and six rebounds and Terrance Woodbury scored 12 for the Bulldogs (11-10, 2-6), who committed 20 turnovers in losing their fifth straight game.