UF withstands Eagles rally

It's beginning to look a lot like last year.

Florida rolled into Christmas break almost too early Monday night against visiting Georgia Southern. The Gators nearly let a 19-point second half whittle away before escaping with an 88-81 win against the Eagles at the O'Connell Center.

Ahead 83-80 in the closing seconds, Florida (9-2) needed a clutch 3-pointer from sophomore point guard Nick Calathes with 5.7 seconds left to seal the win. Calathes led Florida with 21 points and scored 10 of Florida's final 19 points.

"We died down a little bit in the second half," Calathes said. "We definitely can't do that in the SEC or else we're going to get beat."

Florida led 48-33 at halftime and 64-45 with 12:30 left before a near late meltdown fueled by poor defense and missed free throws. Florida went 10 for 17 from the free-throw line in the second half while allowing Georgia Southen to shoot 48.3 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. Georgia Southern also grabbed 10 second-half offensive rebounds.

"They were more passionate than us," said sophomore forward Chandler Parsons, who scored 14 points. "It seemed like they were more hungry. They were getting to loose balls. We've got to be the most physical team on the floor."

Alex Tyus added 20 points for Florida, going 9-for-12 from the field. Florida needed the offensive lift from Parsons and Tyus because both Walter Hodge and Dan Werner fouled out, combining for just 11 points.

"In a strange way, it was a great experience for our guys because Dan Werner and Walter Hodge didn't play a whole lot of minutes," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "They have to learn how to provide leadership for our team and they did not provide great leadership."

Donovan was whistled for his first technical of the season with 12:30 remaining, which started Georgia Southern's late run. Donovan said after the game he didn't get an explanation whether the technical, issued by Anthony Jordan, was the result of language or being out of the coaching box.

"I've been in this league now for 18 years," Donovan said. "I'm going to find out, because certainly I was very, very disappointed with how I got it and in the matter of a guy asking me a question and then giving me a technical foul.

"I definitely got a problem with it. I know I'm not allowed to talk about those guys but I can tell you this right now: It will be addressed with the league office about one individual."

Antonio Hanson led five Georgia Southern players in double-figures with 16 points. Gainesville native Willie Powers added 12 points for Georgia Southern (3-6) on a 4-for-14 shooting night. Georgia Southern stayed in the game with its free-throw shooting, going 21-of-27 from the line after getting into the bonus by drawing seven Florida fouls in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Florida allowed Georgia Southern to shoot 45.8 percent from the field, doing little to improve a defensive field-goal percentage (.443) that ranked last in the Southeastern Conference coming into Monday night. Considering defense was supposed to be a point of emphasis in the offseason, those numbers suggest Florida could once again find itself struggling to make the NCAA Tournament in early March.

"We have a lot to improve on after Christmas break," Calathes said.