Georgia 78 – Florida 76

Black continues to be the color of mourning when Georgia and Florida get together. We all remember the failed gimmick at the WLOCP last fall. Only a week ago the Lady Dogs went black and lost a game in Gainesville that would have earned them a #3 seed and first-round bye for the SEC Tournament. The Florida men’s basketball team returned the favor on Saturday with their homage to the New York Mets, and the result was predictable: Georgia has now won two straight over Florida in Athens.

The win didn’t come easy, and it took a nice defensive stand in the final ten seconds to secure the win. One big development in the game was the performance of Georgia’s bench. Depth has been one of Georgia’s bigger problems during the year, and the reserves have had their problems. But the quick turnaround from Thursday’s overtime game along with some early fouls meant that some reserves were going to have to play meaningful minutes, and they came through by outscoring Florida’s bench 31-8. Most surprising (and welcome) was the play of freshman DeMario Mayfield who scored five points and showed some nice presence of mind on an assist over an important run to close the first half.

Florida, with its postseason future very much uncertain, was desperate for the win and came roaring back from 15 down. Chandler Parsons made play after play, and Kenny Boynton was virtually unguardable from behind the arc. Jeremy Price scored Georgia’s final points on a huge putback with nearly 3 minutes left, and the Dawgs relied on defense to hold on to the remains of their lead.

Lady Dogs 69 – Arkansas 48

Following a midseason 2-6 slump, the Lady Dogs finished the regular season on Sunday by winning three of their last four games. The convincing 69-48 win over Arkansas gives Georgia a meager 2-game winning streak, but it’s their first taste of sustained success since January. There were three SEC upsets on Sunday throwing the league standings into a bit of chaos, but a 12-0 start against Arkansas ensured that the Lady Dogs wouldn’t be one of the upset victims.

The Lady Dogs were picked to finish third in the SEC before the season, and that’s where they ended up thanks to the late-season push. The SEC Tournament opens this week in Duluth, and the Lady Dogs will feature in the nightcap at ~9:00 p.m. on Thursday against Alabama – a team that Georgia has already faced and defeated twice this year.

Diamond Dawgs sweep Stetson

Georgia held on for a 7-5 win over visiting Stetson on Sunday to earn the series sweep. The weekend started well with a 12-2 rout on Friday, but the Diamond Dawgs had to rally with two in the bottom of the 8th to win 9-8 on Saturday. Alex McRee closed the door by striking out the side in the top of the 9th. Sunday’s game was a little easier, but Stetson did creep back from a 7-3 deficit with two late runs before falling short. Georgia had a perfect 7-0 week after returning from Waco, and they stand at 6-2 overall.

The competition ratchets up this week. Wednesday’s midweek game against Alabama in Hoover, Ala. is a rare midweek meeting of conference foes, but the game won’t count in the SEC standings. Then it’s off to Tallahassee for a big weekend series against FSU at the site where Georgia’s 2009 season ended.

In other news…

• The Gym Dogs remained undefeated at home with a win over LSU. It wasn’t their best effort of the year, but they held on to their #5 ranking.
• We’ve talked about UGA sprinter Torrin Lawrence before, and the AJC catches up with him (figuratively) as his career continues on its upward trajectory.