Florida Gators
North Carolina A&T
Gators Rain 3-pointers on NCA&T in 104-54 Rout
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The difference in Florida's long-range shooting in its first two games was strikingly pronounced -- a woeful 16 percent in Friday's win at Navy vs. a fiery 52 percent in Monday night's throttling of North Carolina A&T -- with the reason behind the discrepancy not all that complicated, according to the Gators.
“We got the same shots at Navy,” senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. “We just didn't make 'em.”
That wasn't the case against the Aggies, who were bombarded 104-54 in UF coach Mike White's official home debut in front of 8,605 at the O'Connell Center. Instead of just one player finishing in double figures, as was the case at Navy, the Gators (2-0) had six this time out -- and a staggering eight different guys who hit 3-point shots.
Fourth-year junior forward DeVon Walker, who missed all of last season following knee surgery, put in a career-high 15 points, making six of his shots from the floor, including a couple 3s, and shared scoring honors with sophomore forward Devin Robinson, who went for 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
“'I've never had a game like that in my college career,” said Walker, whose previous high score was 10 points in his sophomore season. “It was fun. It's a boost to your confidence and something to take to the next game.”
A good time was had by all.
Dorian Finney-Smith shook off Friday's sub-par game at Navy to finish with 14 points, 10 rebounds and the sixth double-double of his career Monday night against North Carolina A&T. [Photo by Jim Burgess]
Finney-Smith, held to just four points in the opener, notched his sixth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with sophomore center John Egbunu adding 13 points and five boards. Two more reserves, sophomore guard Chris Chiozza and freshman forward Brandone Francis-Ramirez, were good for 11 and 10 points, respectively.
For the Gators, it the first time hitting the 100-point milestone since a 107-62 drubbing of Jacksonville on Nov. 25, 2011.
“I don't care what the score turned out to be, I was more proud of the effort we showed up with in terms of our intensity level from the jump,” said White, whose team raced to an 18-2 lead and was up 52-27 at halftime. “I thought we came out defensively in the halfcourt and the fullcourt press with a lot of energy. And I thought through the 40 minutes we played very, very unselfishly, especially with a big lead in the second half. That's not always easy to do. We didn't have any agendas creep in. We played with togetherness. It was a good night for us.”
How good?
How 'bout 53.6-percent good from the floor to go with that 51.7 good from long distance. Three days after going 3-for-19 from the arc against Navy, the Gators drilled 15 of their 29 shots from deep, with three each for Finney-Smith and Chiozza, and even one from 6-foot-10 backup center Schuyler Rimmer, the walk-on transfer from Stanford.
“We're all capable scorers, capable shooters,” said Rimmer, who was 4-for-6 from the floor with four rebounds and a career-best nine points. “I think in the Navy game, we had a little anxiety in us. We got it out, though.”
Almost immediately.
“We threw the first punch and really never backed down,” said Francis-Ramirez (pictured right).
Aggies coach Cy Alexander built his game plan around what he saw on tape from the Gators in Annapolis.
“Our plan was to pack in it,” Alexander said, referencing that 3-for-19 brickfest and respecting UF's frontcourt potential. “So we had to take the lesser of two evils and hopefully force them to shoot from the outside.”
The score was 13-2 when Francis-Ramirez drained UF's first 3-ball of the game. Robinson hit one soon thereafter. Even point guard Kasey Hill (7 points, 8 assists), a career 20-percenter from out there, hit his only long attempt of the game.
UF had six treys by half, doubling its total at Navy, then hit nine more after intermission, including two straight from Finney-Smith -- and even got a four-point play (3 from 26 feet, foul and free throw) from Chiozza.
“It just makes the game a lot more fun and a lot easier for you offensively when the ball is dropping,” White said.
Makes it a lot easier to set up the press, not to mention easier to get more guys involved. By game's end, White had emptied a bench that outscored A&T's 50-15.
It was UF's 26th straight win in a home opener and the first victory by at least 50 points since beating the same Aggies program 105-55 on Nov. 18, 2010.
“A game like this just gets everybody juiced,” Walker said. “The fans like it, the coaches like, the players like it. And we played at the tempo Coach White has emphazied and one that we want to maintain.”
