ATHENS, Ga. — No. 8 Florida shook off a sluggish first half and romped past another SEC opponent, beating Georgia 64-47 on Wednesday night behind 17 points from Scottie Wilbekin.

Florida (15-2, 5-0) trailed 27-24 at halftime after making just 1 of 9 three-pointers in the half. But the Gators quickly turned things around after the break. Wilbekin and Mike Rosario hit consecutive three-pointers and forced Georgia into three consecutive turnovers.

The Gators led the rest of way, holding Georgia (7-11, 1-4) to only one field goal in the first 11 1/2 minutes of the second half.

Despite never leading in the first half, Florida added to its run of dominance in conference play. The Gators have won their first five SEC games by an average of nearly 25 points.

Wilbekin, who was averaging 8.3 points per game, matched his career high from a November victory over Central Florida. Kenny Boynton added 14 points, while Erik Murphy had 13.

Florida already had beaten Georgia 77-44 two weeks ago at home, but the Bulldogs were more competitive in this one, at least for a half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the home team with 16 points.

Before a half-filled Stegeman Coliseum, the Bulldogs went right at the Gators from the opening tip, scoring the first six points and quickly building an 11-2 lead. Florida tied it a couple of times but never had the lead before the break.

Georgia stayed on top with accurate shooting, making 6 of 11 three-pointers by halftime.

Caldwell-Pope finished off the half by hitting a long three-pointer just before the buzzer, sending the Bulldogs racing off the court with the lead.

It didn’t last.

Florida has won 17 of the past 20 games in the series and made up for a 76-62 loss at Athens late last season. The Gators finished 8 of 20 on three-pointers.

Georgia was coming off its first SEC victory of the season, 67-58 over LSU. But the Bulldogs just didn’t have enough talent to knock off the Gators, having already lost nonconference games at home to Youngstown State, Southern Miss and Iona.

The Bulldogs’ second-half woes were summed up by Kenny Gaines, who went up for a dunk with about 5 minutes left but didn’t even clear the rim. The crowd groaned, many of them deciding that was a good time to head for home.

VANDERBILT 73, AUBURN 61

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kedren Johnson scored 15 points to lead Vanderbilt over Auburn.

Four players scored 10 or more points to help the Commodores (8-9, 2-3) win consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.

The Tigers (8-10, 2-3) cut the deficit to five points twice in the second half before Vanderbilt used the long ball to sprint away. Kyle Fuller, Sheldon Jeter and Kevin Bright each made three-pointers during a 13-3 run. Rod Odom emphatically capped off the spurt with a two-handed dunk after Josh Henderson found him streaking to the basket for a 52-37 lead with 12:28 left.

Fuller scored 14 points, Bright added 12 and Jeter had 10 as the Commodores won their seventh consecutive against Auburn.

Rob Chubb and Frankie Sullivan each scored 14 points and Brian Greene Jr. added 11 for the Tigers, who have lost three in a row.

LSU 58, TEXAS A&M 54

BATON ROUGE - Anthony Hickey scored 10 points and grabbed eight steals, as LSU Coach Johnny Jones picked up his first SEC victory by beating Texas A&M.

The Tigers (10-6, 1-4) attempted 19 more shots than the Aggies (12-6, 2-3) but led for less than 10 minutes.

The Aggies jumped out to a 19-5 lead and held the advantage from the game’s opening field goal until the 14:51 mark of the second half, when LSU’s Malik Morgan hit his only three-pointer.

The lead went back and forth until the 2:48 mark, when LSU guard Charles Carmouche stole the ball and raced the length of the court for a layup. The Tigers would not trail again.

Three Tigers scored 10 or more points including Hickey. Johnny O’Bryant III scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds, while Shavon Coleman led LSU with 17 points.

LSU made 5 of 23 three-pointers but just 5 of 12 free throws. LSU was also out rebounded 38-32.

Fabyon Harris scored 19 points to lead Texas A&M.

Texas A&M committed 24 turnovers to LSU’s 11, but the Tigers only managed 16 points off turnovers. Five LSU players registered multiple steals, forcing three Texas A&M players to commit four or more turnovers.

TUESDAY’S GAMES

Missouri 71, South Carolina 65 Alabama 59, Kentucky 55

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Arkansas 96, Mississippi State 70 Vanderbilt 73, Auburn 61 Florida 64, Georgia 47 LSU 58, Texas A&M 54

TODAY’S GAME All times Central

Tennessee at Mississippi, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY’S GAMES Arkansas at South Carolina, 12:30 p.m.

Alabama at Tennessee, 1 p.m.

LSU at Kentucky, 3 p.m.

Vanderbilt at Missouri, 4 p.m.

Georgia at Texas A&M, 5 p.m.

Mississippi at Auburn, 7 p.m.

Florida at Mississippi State, 7 p.m.

Sports, Pages 22 on 01/24/2013