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Parsons Leaves Bulldogs Queasy

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By FRED GOODALL, The Associated Press

Published: February 10, 2008

GAINESVILLE - Florida's Chandler Parsons worked so hard to regain his shooting stroke that he thinks he actually made himself sick.

Mired in an offensive slump, the 6-foot-9 freshman took matters into his hands, showing up at the gym late at night and shooting into the wee hours of the morning. The extra workload caught up with him when he came down with a fever on Thursday.

"I woke up and felt terrible," Parsons said after coming off the bench to make his first six shots and score 18 points Saturday, helping the Gators rebound from a pair of blowout losses with a 77-67 victory over Georgia.

"The fever wasn't that bad, but they swabbed my throat for strep throat. They tested for mononucleosis and anemia and thyroid. I didn't have a high fever, and all the tests were negative, so I guess it was me being dumb and shooting 'til 3 in the morning getting my shot back."

The doctor told Parsons to get some rest and drink plenty of fluids. He took a break from the late-night sessions, but he showed up Saturday morning to take a bunch of jumpers before facing Georgia.

"Went 70-for-100, so I felt good," he said.

Taking up the slack with the Gators' top two scorers - Nick Calathes and Marreese Speights - struggling, Parsons went 6-for-9 in the game and was the main reason Florida's reserves outscored Georgia's bench 27-0.

Walter Hodge scored 14 and Jai Lucas added 11 for the Gators, who broke the game open during a 15-2 run in which Calathes, a freshman averaging 15.7 points, and Speights, scoring nearly 20 in his previous five games, finally made a contribution on the offensive end.

Speights delivered baskets on successive possessions to give Florida a 63-53 lead. Calathes made his first field goal - a long 3-pointer - to finish the decisive surge that put the Gators (19-5, 6-3 SEC) up by 15 with eight minutes to go.

Calathes finished with seven points on 1-for-7 shooting. Speights had six points and 10 rebounds.

Georgia (11-10, 2-6) played without second-leading scorer Billy Humphrey, who is serving a three-game suspension after being arrested for underage drinking. He was replaced by freshman guard Zac Swansey, who had four points on 2-for-5 shooting in his first college start.

"I didn't even know until three minutes before game time," Swansey said after getting the start. "I know coach was trying to find somebody to take the place of Billy Humphrey. We actually have three guards that were battling for that spot."

Parsons scored 10 during a 15-4 run Florida put together late in the first half, beginning the spurt with a jumper and finishing it with a 3-point play that gave the Gators a 43-34 edge. Georgia trailed by seven at halftime and stayed close until Florida pulled away for good in the last 13 minutes.

"He stepped up big for us. A huge lift coming off the bench, knocking down shots," Calathes said of Parsons. "He's been struggling the last two games, but that's what we need from him every night. Him slashing and getting some rebounds was big for us and helped us get the win."

Sundiata Gaines led Georgia, which has lost five straight, with a career-high 32 points in a season-high 38 minutes. He made 11 of 20 shots, including six of 10 3-point attempts, and was joined in double figures by Dave Bliss with 13 and Terrance Woodbury with 12.

Fatigue was a factor down the stretch. The Bulldogs played nine players, but the bench was a combined 0-for-5 and didn't give Coach Dennis Felton much choice but to give his starters heavy minutes.

"There were certain phases of the game where Sundiata and other players were certainly playing on fumes," Felton said. "That makes it difficult, especially in the second half. ... Their spurts of points here and there were happening because we were fatigued."

Florida bounced back from lopsided losses to Arkansas (80-61) and Tennessee (104-82) that dropped the two-time defending national champions back out of the Top 25. The Gators improved to 14-1 at home and have beaten Georgia nine consecutive times dating to 2004.

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