The Florida Gators basketball team (5-1) defeated Florida Gulf Coast University (3-3) on Friday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center 70-50.
The Gators were set off by Devin Robinson grabbing a crazy rebound that led to a Kevaughn Allen layup on the other end to give Florida a two point lead.
FGCU retaliated with a 6-0 run giving them a three-point lead. D-Rob ended the Eagles streak with a basket from behind the arc that tied the game at 6.
The Eagles followed up with back to back layups to take back the lead 10-6. Dorian Finney-Smith then tipped one, shot two free throws and a layup in to get the Gators back in the game at 10-10 with 13:20 to go in the first half.
Florida started to pick up some momentum with a steal by KaVaughn Allen at 7:54 followed through with a slam by Doe-Doe putting the Gators up 21-16. Kasey Hill missed a layup after running down the lane, but egbunu puts it back and hangs out on the rim for a minute after slamming it in putting the game at 25-21 at 5:50.
From there, it seemed that the Gators were going to take off with the ball game. However, after Zach Johnson dunked off a fast break all over KaVaughn with 2:39 left in the half the Eagles started to pull away at 29-25.
Dorian Finney-Smith kept Florida in the game with a few trips to the charity stripe, making five of six shots. However it was not enough to send the Gators into the locker room with the lead. The Eagles had a short leg up with a one-point lead at 33-32 as they went to the locker rooms.
After halftime, the Gators came back to the court with a fire under them. They took off with back to back baskets by John Egbunu, putting Florida back in the drivers seat with the lead at 39-33. The Gators held on to the lead and picked up their pace, especially after Chris Chiozza connected to Devin Robinson for a flawless alley-oop with 9:04 to go in the game. That basket put Florida up by 14 points at 54-40.
Point guard Kasey Hill went scoreless until there was only 5:12 left in the game with a pair of free throws. However, after Coach White put the dynamic point guard duo of Chris Chiozza and Kasey Hill in the game, Hill was able to overcome his shooting block. He put up back to back shots, a layup followed by a trey after being joined by his counterpart.
The Florida Gators were able to keep the ball in their court and ended the game defeating the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles by 20 points at 70-50.
They return to the court on Tuesday December 1 against Richmond. Tip is set for 7pm on the SEC Network.