At the Buzzer: Florida 77, St. Bonaventure 62 (Instant Breakdown)

AT THE BUZZER
NCAA EAST REGION
FLORIDA 77, ST. BONAVENTURE 62

WHAT HAPPENED: This time, the sixth-seeded Gators survived one of those nasty cold spells Thursday night that have plagued them this season. They did so by playing defense, some of their best of the season, and then erupted for one of their finest offensive halves in some time to blow out the No. 11-seed Bonnies in second-round play of the NCAA East Region at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Graduate transfer forward Egor Koulechov led all scorers with 20 points, while junior swingman Jalen Hudson scored 13 of his 16 after intermission, including a ridiculous follow-up slam, and UF used a season-best 15-0 run to open a huge cushion and run away for a lopsided victory. Senior point guard Chris Chiozza had 11 assists and no turnovers for the Gators, who shot nearly 53 percent in the second half. UF went nearly eight minutes of the first half without a field goal and actually trailed, 22-21 with three minutes left in the period. The Gators, though, hit back-to-back 3s -- the first by freshman guard Mike Okauru, the second by Koulechov -- to take momentum and a five-point lead into the locker room. UF opened the second half with nine straight points and was never challenged after that, building a lead that swelled to as many as 23.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators are one of the 32 teams remaining in the field and now have won their opening game in the last six trips to the NCAA Tournament (2011, '12, '13, '14 and '17). The last time UF did a one-and-out was in 2010 when the Gators, as a 10-seed, were beaten by seventh-seeded Brigham Young in Oklahoma City.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Last season's NCAA hero, Chiozza, got this season's tournament off to a nice start. UF struggled against the SBU zone in the first half, but Coach Mike White figured some things out at halftime and Chiozza was a flawless facilitator, as he became just the second player in school history to surpass 200 assists in a season, with 205, and further padded the UF career record, running that total to 568.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: St. Bonaventure shot 34 free throws, compared to just 18 by Florida ... and it never mattered. At one point, the discrepancies were 24-6 and 33-9, yet the Gators still were up by double-digits. Things evened out a bit late in the game as the Bonnies were hacking away and trying to create desperation turnovers.

UP NEXT: The Gators (21-12) move into the East's third round to face third-seeded Texas Tech (25-9), which defeated 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin 70-60 in the pod's early session Thursday. The date with Tech means a reunion with former Gators guard Brandone Francis-Ramirez, who transferred from UF after the '15-16 season and is now a key reserve for the Raiders. It will also mean a big-time homecourt advantage for Tech, which is just six hours away and was in high-decibel representation Thursday night.

Gators Calendar

At the Buzzer: Florida 77, St. Bonaventure 62 (Instant Breakdown)

Players Mentioned

Chris Chiozza

Jalen Hudson

Mike Okauru

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