The Florida Gators basketball team notched another SEC road victory on the road against Alabama 80-67. Florida traveled to Tuscaloosa knowing an impressive offensive performance was needed to beat this tough and physical Alabama defense.
In the first half, Florida jumped out to a big 15-point lead that lasted seemingly just seconds as Alabama came storming back to end the half on a big run that only put the Tide down seven at the break.
For Florida, the second half of the game presented adversity that they had not seen yet in conference play. The Tide flew out of the gate at halftime and took the lead. The Crimson Tide’s lead stretched all the way to six and the game seemed to be in the hands of Avery Johnson and company. All of that momentum was squandered by play of Keith Stone. Stone had a career high 14 points and made multiple threes to get the Gators back in the game. Stone’s good offensive play will over shadow his effort on defense, but that’s where Stone was very effective in leading Florida back to beat the Crimson Tide. The Gators stole the lead back from Alabama, and never gave it back.
Following Stone, Canyon Barry had one of his better performances and scored 13 points including a big three r to put the game out of reach.
The Gators remain unbeaten in conference play and will host the Georgia Bulldogs this Saturday in Gainesville. Another big matchup that would be a nice for the March Madness resume.