Stone Cold Stuff: Freshman Forward Breaks Out vs. Miami

Sunday, November 27

Orlando, FL

4:30 PM

Florida Gators

Miami

Freshman forward Keith Stone attacks a Miami double-team in Sunday's win on the way to a career-high 15 points. (Photo: Kelly Streeter/UAA Communications)

Stone Cold Stuff: Freshman Forward Breaks Out vs. Miami

Sunday, November 27, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Box Score

Forward Keith Stone scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in UF's 65-56 defeat of the Hurricanes in Sunday's third-place game of AdvoCare Invitational.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Keith Stone hadn't exactly taken college basketball by storm. Not that he was supposed to be an instant-impact guy, but through six games of his redshirt freshman season, Stone, a talented young offensive player, was shooting just 13 percent from the floor and had missed all six of his 3-point shots.

Then came his seventh game.

Stone came off the bench Sunday to score 15 point and grab a team-high eight rebounds, injecting some life into the Florida lineup and help key a 65-56 defeat of cross-state foe Miami in the third-place game of the AdvoCare Invitational Tournament at HP Fieldhouse. Senior point guard Kasey Hill led the Gators (6-1) with a game-high 16 points, including an 8-for-10 effort from the free-throw line, to help UF break a two-game losing skid against the Hurricanes (4-2) and post a second win against a high-major opponent during the Thanksgiving weekend tourney.

"I got confidence from my teammates telling me to shoot," said Stone, who had combined to miss all four of his shots in the previous two tournament games in just 10 minutes of play, taking him to 5-for-20 to open his redshirt freshman season. "Even though I was having a bad start, they kept telling me, 'Keep going' and 'You're doing all right.' We just came together as a family."

And as a defense.

Less than 48 hours after being carved up by 52-percent shooting from No. 11 Gonzaga in a 77-72 loss (including 61 percent in the second half), the Gators had a couple defensive lulls against the Canes, but battened down and buttoned up over the game's final 15 minutes and ultimately held UM to just 37.7 percent from the floor.

"I wasn't pleased with the overall intensity level to start the second half, but really pleased with how we kept plugging all the way," UF coach Mike White said.

The Gators started both the game and the second half with a lack of juice and some pronounced defensive lapses. The first such episode was alarming enough for White to call a timeout barely two minutes into the game, his team up 3-2, and yank all five of his starters.

"We needed that," Hill said. "It changed our mindsets. We played harder."

Despite falling behind by eight points through the first five-plus minutes, the Gators made a couple mini-runs to inch close, until Stone, the 6-foot-8, 240-pound 'stretch' power forward, hit a 3 from the top of the key (his first) to start a 10-2 spurt that ended with another Stone 3, this one from the corner. UF led 34-30 at the half. Time to carry that energy over.

"We spent the entire halftime talking about the 'first four minutes [of the second half], first four minutes,' like every coach in the country talks about," White said. "It is what it is."

What it was, unfortunately, was nine straight points by the Hurricanes to open the period. The Gators were quickly down five and after just over four minutes had taken just three shots to the Canes' 10, thanks to UM's work on the offensive glass.

Then Stone converted a couple free throws.

A few minutes later, he grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a stickback that tied the game at 41. Miami guard Bruce Brown (15 points, 4 rebounds) hit a shot that momentarily gave lead back to the Canes, but the Gators scored the next six points on an elbow jumper from junior forward Devin Robinson (10 points, 5 rebounds), a rebound and coast-to-coast take by Hill, then and a run-out transition layup by Robinson on a nice pass from KeVaughn Allen (9 points).

Miami got within two on the next possession, but another UF run — this one 8-2 — extended the lead to eight. And while the Canes cut it back to a four a couple times, the Gators closed matters by going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line over the final 3:18.

Over the last 15 minutes, Florida limited Miami to just eight makes on its final 22 field-goals. The Gators hit 11 of their final 21 shots.

And found a new guy along the way.

"We knew at some point he was going to kind of settle in and provide some production and earn more minutes," White said of Stone, the Deerfield Beach, Fla., product who was encouraged by his head doach to take a development red-shirt year in 2015-16 to focus on his skills and conditioning. "We saw glimpses of what he can potentially be for this team — a very good player."

For Stone?

"It felt good seeing it go in," Stone said of his shot. "I just shot it like I was playing at the park."

Whatever works, young man.

As for the Gators, they put the wraps on yet another bus trip to a state venue — their fourth of the month while the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center renovation nears completion — but unlike the first four games on their schedule this time went up against a trio of high-major powers (Seton Hall, Gonzaga and Miami), all of which played in the NCAA Tournament last March. The team gave a nice accounting of itself, especially in pulling together at the end of a long holiday weekend away.

"This was high-level tournament," White said. "We're fortunate to come away with two wins. And we know a lot more about ourselves than we did last week."