Will Richard paces Florida with 24 points in win at Georgia

Will Richard scored 15 of his career-high 24 points in the first half to lead Florida to a 77-67 victory over host Georgia in Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday in Athens, Ga.

Richard hit 8 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and grabbed five rebounds for the Gators, who ended a three-game losing streak.

Riley Kugel added 19 points and six rebounds, while Myreon Jones added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Florida, which defeated Georgia for the eighth straight meeting.

The Gators (15-15, 8-9), who won for just the second time in their past eight games, shot 29 of 54 (53.7 percent) from the field, including 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Florida scored 17 points off Georgia's 12 turnovers, while the Bulldogs tallied just nine points off the Gators' 13 miscues.

Georgia (16-14, 6-11), which has lost a season-high four straight games, was led by Kario Oquendo's 20 points, while Justin Hill added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Braelen Bridges had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs, who have dropped seven of their past nine games.

The Bulldogs shot 21 of 63 (33.3 percent) from the field, including 4 of 22 (18.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

After Florida took a 52-41 lead on Jones' free throw with 12:51 left, Georgia went on a 14-5 run to pull to within 57-55 following Hill's two free throws with 7:19 to go.

But the Gators put the game away by countering with a 15-6 run capped by Alex Fudge's layup for a 72-61 advantage with 2:16 left.

Richard took over with Florida trailing 26-23 with 5:12 left in the first half. He scored 12 points during Florida's 20-7 run to take a 43-33 halftime advantage.

Richard went 4 of 6 from beyond the arc in the first half and had 15 points, while Jones and Kugel each added nine in the first 20 minutes for Florida.

Georgia was led by Oquendo's nine first-half points, while Terry Roberts added seven on his way to finishing with nine.