GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Nick Calathes had the second triple-double of his career, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and Florida thumped Georgia 83-57 Wednesday night.
Alex Tyus had 18 points and Chandler Parsons added 12 for the Gators (18-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference), who extended their winning streak against the Bulldogs to 11 games and handed Georgia its seventh consecutive loss this season.
Calathes, the conference's freshman of the year last season, proved to be the toughest matchup for the Dawgs (9-11, 0-5). He drove past Georgia's guards all night, getting open shots for himself and creating easy baskets for teammates. He got the triple-double on an fast-break pass to Parsons with 4:29 remaining.
Corey Butler and Howard Thompkins led Georgia with 10 points apiece.
Coach Billy Donovan pulled Calathes at the next timeout, and he left the court to a standing ovation. Calathes' other triple-double came last year against Creighton in the second round of the NIT.
This one was the program's third and the first in conference play. Former Florida guard Corey Brewer recorded the school's first triple-double against Jacksonville in 2005. Donovan put Brewer back on the floor in the closing minutes to accomplish the feat.
Calathes made his look much easier. His 3-pointer with about 12 minutes to play gave him 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and put Florida up 62-39. The only thing left for the Gators was to get Calathes the triple-double. He would have had it much sooner, but the Gators missed at least four open shots on what would have been assists from Calathes.
No worries, though, as Calathes found them on breakaways.
Tyus got a dunk, Dan Werner hit an open 3-pointer and then Parsons capped the milestone with his layup.
The outcome was decided long before Calathes ended his big night.
Florida closed the first half with a 20-9 run and was up 42-30 at the break. It got ugly from there. The Gators opened the second half with an 8-2 run and pulled away from there. Fans headed to the exits with 7:48 remaining, a few minutes before Calathes sealed his triple-double.
The Gators also moved essentially into the same position they were in last season, when they started 18-3 and 5-1 in league play, and looked like they would make the NCAA tournament. They collapsed down the stretch, losing eight of their final 11 games and missing the tournament for the first time in a decade.
Florida plays at Tennessee on Saturday, hoping for much different results.
