GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Opportunity lost.

For Georgia, that basically sums up Saturday’s game against 23rd-ranked Florida after falling in overtime to the Gators at Exactech Arena, 80-76.

Senior guard J.J. Frazier put it best.

“We had a couple of them (opportunities to win),” Frazier said. “I missed a free throw, they had a free throw, we didn’t rebound the ball … I had a shot to win the game … there was a lot of opportunities where we could have seized the moment to win the game but we didn’t.”

The Bulldogs (11-6, 3-2) certainly had their chances, including a missed three-pointer by Frazier that bounced off the back iron to send the game into overtime.

Once in overtime, the Gators slowly took control, jumping out to a two-point lead and never looking back.

Neither team was able to get into much of a rhythm.

Saturday’s officiating crew whistled the Bulldogs for 27 fouls, with 22 going against the Gators, who converted 27 of 35 free throw attempts compared to a 16-of-21 effort by Georgia.

“We just got crushed at the free throw line and that’s an area where we’ve been pretty good,” head coach Mark Fox said. “We just lost that battle today.”

It was certainly a strange game in other ways, too.

Georgia actually outshot the Gators 42.5 to 40 percent and out-rebounded them, 41-32.

But mistakes didn’t help.

The Bulldogs committed 18 turnovers, compared to 13 for Florida, which converted 9-of-23 three-point attempts, including a 5-of-8 performance by Canyon Barry, who finished with a game-high 27 points.

Georgia, meanwhile, was just 4 of 16 from beyond the arc.

“Florida keeps you off balance by the way they switch their defenses. For us, it was trying to find and maintain a little bit of a rhythm,” Frazier said. “For the most part, I think we did that but, at the end, we just didn’t get a basket or rebound when we needed to.”

It didn’t help Georgia’s cause that leading scorer Yante Maten – who finished with 15 points - fouled out with 3:52 left in regulation and, as a result, Florida closed the game on a 21-12 run to ultimately finish on top.

“He’s definitely a big piece, so when a big piece of your team goes missing, it’s tough,” said junior Juwan Parker, who scored a career-high 17 points. “When that happens, it’s just time for the other guys to step up.”

But even with Maten out, Georgia still had a great opportunity to win the game, leading 66-65 with 1:09 on the clock.

Following a made free throw by Kasay Hill, the senior’s second shot bounced off the glass, but right into the hands of John Egbunu who dished off back to Hill, who was fouled with 7 seconds left.

Hill then sank his first free throw to tie the game, but missed his second with E’Torrian Wilridge grabbing the rebound before Frazier missed his jumper from the key, sending the game into overtime.

“We’ve had three or four now where it’s been ugly at times and we’ve just found a way to win,” Florida head coach Mike White said. “We’ve got a little resiliency. We’ve got a confidence and that’s heightening, but obviously if you play with fire you’re going to get burned. There’s a lot of things we can learn from this game.”

The Bulldogs – who haven’t won in Gainesville since 2002 – were in no mood to talk moral victories after the game.

“It’s a heartbreaker, especially in a game where everybody competed as hard as they possibly could,” Parker said. “I thought we executed our game plan, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way today.”

NOTES: Georgia returns to action on Tuesday when the Bulldogs host Vanderbilt at 9 p.m. … Florida’s win was its seventh straight, the team’s longest in three seasons. … Derek Ogbeide reached double-digits in rebounds for the fourth time this year with 10.