After falling to No. 11 Gonzaga 77-72 on Friday night, the Gators men's basketball team bounced back Sunday with a 65-56 win over Miami to finish in third place at the Advocare Invitational in Orlando.
Thanks to an impressive defensive effort and a second-half rally, Florida now improves to 6-1 on the season with match-ups against UNF, Duke and FSU on the horizon during the next two weeks.
Instant Analysis now takes a closer look at Florida’s victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: After Miami jumped out to a 9-0 run at the start of the second half for a 39-34 advantage - and held the Gators scoreless for 5:26 of action - soon Florida responded and eventually took control of the contest. The Gators soon jumped out to an eight-point lead with about five minutes left - and from that point, the Hurricanes couldn't cut their deficit to fewer than four points. UF forced enough missed shots by UM - and made enough free throws down the stretch - to hang on for the win.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Senior point guard Kasey Hill led the way with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting (and an 8-of-10 clip from the free throw line), but it was redshirt freshman Keith Stone who stood out the most with a breakout performance Sunday. Entering Sunday averaging just one point per game in 7.8 minutes per contest, Stone racked up 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and eight boards in 25 minutes of action.
THESE STATS DON'T LIE: Florida had the edge in the points in the paint battle, 36-26, and outscored Miami on points off of turnovers 21-9. After shooting just 2-of-19 against Gonzaga from the three-point line, Florida fared slightly better Sunday with a 3-of-9 clip. While Florida went 21-of-43 (48.8%) on two-point attempts, Miami went just 37.7% shooting and 4-of-14 (28.6%) from three-point range.
WHAT A PLAY: Florida put an exclamation mark on Sunday's victory with 2:34 left in the ballgame, when a driving Hill lofted the ball for John Egbunu for an impressive alley-oop slam. The two-handed dunk gave the Gators a 59-51 advantage over the Hurricanes.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A Gators team that played three games in four days battled through exhaustion to pull out an impressive victory over Miami. The defensive effort was outstanding, and the performances on the offensive end by both Hill and Stone were certainly encouraging. Mike White has this Gators group, which has won six games away from the road, playing quality basketball after a shaky first season on the job.
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