UF's sophomores step up for the Gators against Saint Joseph's

Coming off a game where they came up short by three points on the road, Florida’s men’s basketball team needed to respond well against Saint Joseph’s on Thursday.

UF was up for the challenge in the Charleston Classic.

Despite losing Kerry Blackshear Jr. early in the second half, the Gators were able to rebound and get back in the win column with a 70-62 victory.

Florida's sophomores were the storyline here as Andrew Nembhard, Keyontae Johnson and Noah Locke combined for 51 points on the afternoon.

Check out GatorsTerritory's game recap below to see how Florida squeezed out a win against St. Joe's.

Sophomore guards Noah Locke and Andrew Nembhard set the tone early for the Gators in their matchup with the Hawks.

Locke knocked down his first two attempts from distance, and an easy layup for Scottie Lewis led to Florida getting off to an 8-0 advantage.

Nembhard then took over the reins after missing a dunk and a three-pointer. The Aurora, Ontario, native scored 10 points for the Gators in just over six minutes of game time to extend their lead to 21-8.

Another sophomore who stepped for UF was Keyontae Johnson. Seven points from Johnson, another three-pointer by Locke and a layup by Nembhard put Florida up 31-13 with under five minutes to go in the half.

The three players finished with 33 points combined as they shot 13-of-26 from the field and 7-of-15 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of play. This was necessary for the team as Blackshear Jr. only played 3 minutes due to him having two personal fouls.

UF’s defense also was effective coming out the gates. They held the Hawks to 27% shooting from the floor and only gave up one made three-pointer in the half.

The Gators also had six blocks, with half of them coming from freshman Omar Payne.

Florida suffered a tough break near the beginning of the second half.

After swinging his elbow with the ball in his possession and making contact with a St. Joe's player, Blackshear Jr. was ejected from the game for receiving a flagrant two foul.

Points were tough to come by for the Gators following the absence of Blackshear Jr., but they did just enough to escape with a win.

Johnson put up six of UF’s next eight points following the departure of their star big man. Florida also received contributions from their true freshmen in this half as Lewis and Ques Glover combined for 9 points.

Florida’s defense did let up in the second half as their offense stalled to an extent. The team led 41-25 going into halftime, but St. Joe's was able to cut it down to a four-point game with just over seven minutes to go.

Johnson connected on a free throw and then knocked down a jumper a couple of possessions later, while Nembhard made a layup to put UF up 63-56.

The Hawks and the Gators exchanged free three throws over the next few minutes, but Ryan Daly converted on a layup to cut Florida's lead to 64-62.

UF did hold off St. Joe's, however, with crucial free throws down the stretch to walk away with a down-to-the-wire victory. Locke, Nembhard and Payne each made two free throws in the final 32 seconds to give their team a 70-62 win.

Up next, Florida will take on the Miami Hurricanes in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic on Friday at noon. A win tomorrow would give the Gators consecutive victories for the first time this season.

Stay tuned to GatorsTerritory.