Chandler Parsons' gritty second-half performance and a hot shooting streak by Kenny Boynton helped Florida clinch at least a share of its first SEC Eastern Division since 2007.
The Gators rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to beat Georgia 71-62 at the O'Connell Center. The victory guaranteed No. 13 Florida (22-5, 11-2 SEC) a first-round bye in next month's conference tournament.
"For these guys to go from a team that last year and year before that were fourth or fifth, somewhere in that range, and get to a point where, worst-case scenario, they're going to share an Eastern Division championship ..." coach Billy Donovan said. "It's very, very rewarding for me as a coach. They really earned it and deserved it."
The Gators trailed 31-20 late in the first half before pulling even early in the second.
Playing his first game since suffering a deep thigh bruise Feb. 12, Parsons started slowly, but sprung to life after halftime. He scored twice in the first 90 seconds of the second half and tied the game at 35 with a three-pointer with 17:02 remaining.
Parsons missed more than a week of practice and sat out Sunday's game at LSU. He did not start against Georgia (18-9, 7-6 ), and scored a quiet four points in 11 first-half minutes, but finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists while playing 19 minutes in the second half.
"You'd have to cut off my leg for me to miss another game," said Parsons, who wore thick football padding under his shorts.
Boynton, who scored a team-high 18 points, hit three straight three-pointers to push Florida's lead from 52-51 to 61-53 with 5:42 left.
Erving Walker scored 15 points, and Alex Tyus added 12.
Florida visits No. 22 Kentucky on Saturday, then gets a chance to capture the SEC regular-season championship Tuesday against Alabama.
