Florida beats Georgia

Parsons scores 18 to lead Florida past Georgia 77-67

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Chandler Parsons came off the bench to

hit his first six shots and finish with 18 points, helping Florida

bounce back from a pair of blowout losses with a 77-67 victory over

Georgia.

Taking up the slack with the Gators' top offensive players -

Nick Calathes and Marreese Speights - struggling, Parsons went

6-for-9 and was the main reason Florida (19-5, 6-3 Southeastern

Conference) outscored Georgia's reserves 27-0 today.

Walter Hodge scored 14 and Jai Lucas added 11 for the Gators,

who broke the game open during a 15-2 run in which Calathes, a

freshman averaging 15.7 points, and Speights, scoring nearly 20 in

his previous five games, finally made a contribution on the

offensive end.

Speights delivered baskets on successive possessions to give

Florida a 63-53 lead. Calathes made his first field goal - a long

3-pointer - to finish the decisive surge that put the Gators up

68-53 with 8:19 to go.

Georgia (11-10, 2-6) played without second-leading scorer Billy

Humphrey, who is serving a three-game suspension after being

arrested for underage drinking. He was replaced by freshman guard

Zac Swansey, who had 4 points on 2-for-5 shooting in his first

college start.

Parsons scored 10 during a 15-4 run Florida put together late in

the first half, beginning the spurt with a jumper and finishing it

with a 3-point play that gave the Gators a 43-34 edge. Georgia

trailed by 7 at halftime and stayed close until Florida pulled away

for good in the last 13 minutes.

Sundiata Gaines led Georgia, which has lost five straight, with

a career-high 32 points. He made 11 of 20 shots, including 6 of 10

3-point attempts, and was joined in double figures by Dae Bliss

with 13 and Terrance Woodbury with 12.

Florida rebounded from lopsided losses Arkansas (80-61) and

Tennessee (104-82) that dropped the two-time defending national

champions back out of the Top 25. The Gators improved to 14-1 at

home and have beaten Georgia nine consecutive times dating to 2004.

Calathes finished with 7 points on 1-for-7 shooting. Speights

had 6 points and 10 rebounds.