What was a back-and-forth game for the first 33 minutes turned into a rout as visiting Florida kept its NCAA hopes alive by easing past Georgia, 68-54, in Athens, Ga.

The Gators trailed by as many as six in the second half before tying the game at 40 on a 3-pointer by Tre Mann with 13:14 to play before a 10-point run put them up by nine at 55-46 with 5:08 to play.

Consecutive travels by Rayshaun Hammonds and Anthony Edwards resulted in two consecutive 3-pointers by Noah Locke. A dunk by Keyontae Johnson sparked the Gators' surge, who moved to 19-11, 11-6 in the SEC.

The Bulldogs (15-15, 5-12) would get back within five on a 3-pointer by Sahvir Wheeler with 4:09 to play but would get no closer and Florida won the game going away.

Johnson led the Gators with 18 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Locke with 17 points and Scottie Lewis with 11. Edwards led the Bulldogs with 14 points, followed by Hammonds with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Georgia could not have started any hotter.

The Bulldogs hit their first seven shots -- including a pair of treys by Hammonds -- to roll out to a 19-6 lead, a spurt that included a 13-0 run.

But the Bulldogs would soon go ice cold. In fact, they were frigid. For the next seven minutes, Georgia failed to score a single point until a layup by Tyree Crump broke a string of nine straight scoreless possessions.

Florida wasn't much better.

Despite the drought, the Gators were only able to whittle the lead down to 23-16 before twice tying the game, the second time at 27-27 on a jumper by Locke with 1:22 left in the half.

However, the Gators -- who were 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half -- never saw the lead thanks to a conventional three-point play by Jordan Harris enabling Georgia to go into the locker room up 30-28.

Georgia and Florida close out the regular season Saturday with the Bulldogs traveling to LSU with the Gators hosting Kentucky.

--Field Level Media