Another disappointing finish

Thursday’s second-round game in the SEC Tournament against Florida resembled so many for Georgia this season.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the ending was also familiar as the Gators bounced back from a first-half deficit to eliminate Mike White’s squad, 85-80.

Barring an unexpected bid to the NIT, Georgia’s season ends at 17-16.

The Bulldogs led 37-34 at the half, but it did not take the Gators (22-10) long to reclaim the lead at 49-48 with 13:10 to play.

Florida would extend its advantage to as much as seven, but unlike past contests, the Bulldogs did not fade.

With 5:12 remaining, a layup by Silas Demary Jr. tied the score at 68 only to have a 3-pointer by Walter Clayton Jr. put Florida right back in front.

Still, the Bulldogs kept at it. With 22 seconds left and the Bulldogs trailing by three, RJ Melendez stole the ball but missed the layup with Gator Riley Kugel coming away with the rebound.

Kugel made both his free throws, but despite a driving layup by Justin Hill cutting the lead back to three, Georgia failed to get closer.

Demary Jr. and Noah Thomasson led the Bulldogs with 14 points each, with Melendez and Hill chipping in with 13.

Clayton’s 22 points led the Gators. Florida won the game despite going 23 of 41 from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs were a mere 16 of 27.

It looked like Florida was going to run away with the game.

Will Richard was a one-man scoring machine for the Gators, scoring 13 points over the first 9:55 to put Florida up 21-12.

But that’s when the Bulldogs went to work.

A pair of 3-pointers by Melendez and RJ Sunahara keyed a 10-1 run to tie the game before a layup by Jalen DeLoach gave Georgia its first lead at 23-22.

The Bulldogs weren’t done.

Georgia extended its run to 18-3 on another 3-pointer by Melendez, who scored 11 points in the first half with the Bulldogs ahead 37-34.

NOTE: The Bulldogs played their fourth straight game without Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who remained out with an ankle injury.