Florida guard Boogie Fland made a pair of three-point shots in the clutch as the Gators held off Florida State, 78-76. Fland scored 14 of his 18 total points in the second half. Photo courtesy of Florida Athletics.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Guard Xavian Lee’s layup gave the No. 10 Florida Gators a 66-57 lead when he capped a 14-2 run with 8:37 remaining. Florida stopped a late Florida State run as the Gators passed the Seminoles, 78-76, in Gainesville Tuesday evening.
Florida trailed, 55-52, when Seminoles guard Kobe Magee made a pair of free throws with 12:46 remaining.
Guard Boogie Fland and swingman Thomas Haugh combined for 10 of those 14 points, with Fland scoring on an offensive rebound off the right side and making a three-pointer behind the left baseline as his shot lipped the rim and fell for the score.
Haugh finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds by scoring, rebounding, making effective passes, and posting a strong defensive effort.
“I think these guys were able to find me more,” explained Haugh on his role in the run. “They were able to get me on cuts. Condo (Alex Condon) got me on a couple cuts, got fouled. Boogie was able to give me the ball in the middle court, and then we spaced out a little bit. I think it was just a good game from there.”
Center Rueben Chinyelu was a factor all evening as he joined Haugh with a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds in nearly 25 minutes.
“I mean, he had played really, really well, and he bounced back,” said Golden. “He hadn’t played his best in the first couple of games, but Rueben understands, and our team understands how important he is to our success. And he really did well in the exhibition season, in the scrimmages.”
Chinyelu’s 16 rebounds were a career high, and they helped to manufacture his 20th career double-double.
Both teams were solid defensively as the Gators held Florida State to 33.8 percent from the floor while the ‘Noles allowed 39.1 percent, as the Gators were just 6-of-31 from three.
Uprising Falls Short – New Florida State head coach Luke Loucks features a talented nine-man rotation that recorded a near miss on Tuesday.
Florida State guard Robert McCray V scored the Seminoles’ last 15 points as he made four layups in the 6:11 stretch. He cut the FSU deficit to 71-66 with 3:01 remaining by penetrating the middle of the lane to score in a half-court set.
McCray found, but missed a game-tying three-pointer with seven seconds left in the game.
“He’s down on himself right now,” said Loucks. “I told him after the game that I would draw up the same play for him, let him shoot the same shot. He has a great first step, an athletic body. I know he is frustrated right now.”
McRay, who transferred from Jacksonville, leads Florida State with a team-high 17.7 points per game, and he also has a team-high 8.7 assists per night. While he struggled early, McCray still put the Seminoles in position to defeat the Gators.
“He missed some of those layups he should have made, and he had quite a few turnovers in the first half, so the sky is the limit for him, and we trust him to lead our team,” Loucks commented.
Kobe Magee scored 14 points while Chauncey Wiggins added 11 for the Seminoles.
Complementary Thoughts: Both Golden and Loucks were impressed with each other’s teams as Florida lost a 93-87 decision to Arizona before their 104-64 decision over North Florida. The Seminoles took two wins against Alcorn State and Alabama State after dropping a 109-105 decision to Alabama in a preseason scrimmage.
“Todd has done a really good job putting this roster together,” Loucks said. “He has size everywhere. They play really hard. Obviously, one of our keys going into this game was rebounding, and they outrebounded us by 22. When they get that many second looks at the basket, it’s really tough to continue to fight.”
Golden discussed preparing for FSU as Loucks comes back to Tallahassee with impressive experience as a seven-year assistant with the Warriors, Suns, and Kings.
“Luke has done a phenomenal job in a short period of time, getting that program playing a very unique style that’s really hard to prepare for and playing with a lot of confidence, dating back to their exhibition against Alabama,” said Golden.
Gators Exemplify Survival Mode: Florida went scoreless from the field from 4:39 to 11 seconds remaining in the first half. The field goals were bookends as Condon made his first two baskets. The Gators were 0-of-5 from the floor with two turnovers during that stretch.
Haugh once again showed as a strong team leader with a high basketball acumen,
Fland stepped up and scored 14 of those 18 points in the second half after he had struggled by going 2-of-5 with four points in 17 minutes in the first half.
“It’s the beginning of the season, we know we’re not hitting right now, but once we start hitting, we’re going to play better,” said Fland.
Golden discussed Fland’s ability to make those late threes where his shooting and playmaking were major factors.
“We don’t win the game without them,” Golden said of Fland’s threes. “We needed a couple of guys to find a way to put a shot in, and Boogie started it by getting the first one to drop. Hit a big-time corner three that allowed us to extend, and then we didn’t do a good job the last four minutes to play with the lead.”
The Arkansas transfer made his two three-point field goals in the second half while Chinyelu scored on a pair of slam dunks off of alley-oop passes to solidify the Gators’ advantage.
“We gave up too many lob dunks behind the play,” explained Louks. “As we run-and-jump and trap, there is always someone who has to have the basket. I felt like we stepped up to the ball, and they are so big that it was lob dunk after lob dunk, which probably cost us 8-10 points throughout the game.”
The post Gators Outlast Seminoles Despite McCray’s Late Heroics appeared first on CollegeHoopsWatch.
