On a day that is characterized by the exchange of gifts, Terrance Woodbury gave one to his mother while also giving himself a memory to last a lifetime. Woodbury led Georgia with 32 points, helping the Bulldogs defeat Florida 88-86 on Valentine’s Day in Athens. The win ended Georgia’s 11-game losing streak to the Gators, as well as their 11-game overall losing streak, and gave them their first conference win. “It was unbelievable. For us to beat them and the way we did with the [record] we were coming in with, 0-9,” Woodbury said. “We beat them for myself and Corey [Butler]. I just felt great. It was high emotions.”
After a rare Woodbury missed 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, Florida had a chance to tie or take the lead, trailing by only two. The Gators raced down the court, but Erving Walker missed a jumper at point-blank range with four seconds remaining and Walter Hodge could not convert after he grabbed the offensive rebound, sending the Bulldogs players into an emotional on-court celebration before celebrating in front of the students.
Woodbury, holding the game ball, slapped hands with security staff and fans along the baseline and side of the court. After the public celebration ended, Woodbury even exited an enthusiastic Georgia locker room with the ball in hand. When speaking to the media later without the ball, he talked about its whereabouts. “My fiancée has it or my uncle, one of them has it, but I’m going to go give it to my mother,” Woodbury said.
No reason for his fiancée to be jealous, however, as the senior tri-captain said he had special plans for her later on the romantic holiday. Nevertheless, Woodbury’s biggest gift was to himself and his Bulldog teammates. Georgia (10-15, 1-9) avoided being the first Georgia team in 50 years to lose 12 games in a row, while also beating their hated rival for the first time in their careers. “It felt good to beat Florida at home in front of your home fans,” said Butler, one of two Bulldog seniors along with Woodbury.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second half, with Florida taking its first lead, 77-76, on a pair of Ray Shipman free throws with 8:03 remaining in the game. The Gators extended the lead to 79-76 on a Walker jump shot and took two more leads of two points at 82-80 and 84-82. The Bulldogs responded to the last Florida lead by scoring the next six points, the last being off a Trey Thompkins spin move with 59 seconds left.
Still, it was amazing for the Gators to be in the game in the second half, considering how hot the Bulldogs were out of the gates. Georgia opened the game by making its first eight shots, four of which were Woodbury 3’s, on its way to a 21-8 advantage with less than five minutes gone in the first half. “They came out and were very aggressive and that’s the way we wanted to be in the game,” said Bulldogs interim head coach Pete Herrmann of his team.
The Bulldogs went on to twice build leads of 14 points at 37-23 and 40-26, but the Gators, who were not playing badly either, cut into Georgia’s cushion. A Chandler Parsons 3-pointer cut Georgia’s advantage to 47-43 with 2:57 remaining in the half, and despite playing a stanza of basketball that saw them shoot 69 percent from the field and hit 10-of-16 3 pointers, the Bulldogs found themselves in a ballgame. Georgia closed the half on a 7-2 run and took a 54-47 lead into intermission. The 54 points matched or surpassed the Bulldogs’ total output for six games this season. Woodbury paced Georgia with 20 points, making all seven of his field goal attempts, including five 3’s, while also swishing his only free throw attempt. “‘Wood’ was just out of sight,” Herrmann said. “The first half was as good a shooting exhibition as I have seen around. He was just on fire.”
Woodbury hit 9-of-13 field goal attempts for the day and converted 7-of-10 3-point attempts. Thompkins added 11 points and Dustin Ware also added 11 for Georgia. Albert Jackson contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Walter Hodge led Florida (19-6, 6-4) with 22 points and Nick Calathes almost notched his second triple-double against the Bulldogs this season, managing 16 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds. Calathes had a triple-double against the Bulldogs in their first meeting on Jan. 28, as he recorded 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Georgia shot 57 percent from the field for the day and 53 percent from 3-point land. The Bulldogs last beat the Gators on February 17, 2004. Also, the win is Georgia’s first under Herrmann and comes three days after the Bulldogs lost 79-48 at Tennessee, their 11th straight loss and largest margin of defeat in an SEC game since 1975. Georgia will look to make it two wins in a row when it hosts Auburn on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
Loading ...
