Florida Gators
Florida Gulf Coast
2-Headed Frontcourt Monster Leads UF past FGCU
Saturday, November 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Mike White had his team's attention at halftime Friday. Good thing -- and not a moment too soon -- because White wasn't sure the night's opponent, Florida Gulf Coast, had his team's attention through the game's first 20 minutes.
“We came out and were just a little behind. FGCU came out and was very active and aggressive,” backup freshman center Kevarrius Hayes said. “It was almost as if, in a way, we weren't ready. So Coach White basically challenged our effort.”
White, his team trailing the feisty Eagles by a point, put a question to the Gators.
“Is this what you really want?” he asked.
Apparently, it wasn't.
After a going-through-the-motions first half, the Gators fired out of the locker room after the break, scored three quick baskets and from there began pulling away en route to a 70-50 victory before 10,323 at the O'Connell Center. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (right) scored 23 points, missing his career-high by a basket, and grabbed eight rebounds, while sophomore center John Egbunu posted the first double-double of his UF career with 17 points and 11 boards, plus four blocked shots.
Florida (5-1) shot a dismal 29.7 percent in the first half, compared to 42 percent from FGCU (3-3). The Gators, with their front line of 6-foot-11, 6-9 and 6-8 was also out-rebounded 33-32 in the first 20 minutes.
There wasn't any mystery what was going on.
One team was playing harder.
“Coach challenged us at halftime,” Egbunu said. “Better defense, better offense. Do our jobs.”
“We raised our voices a little bit, but our guys did too -- with each other,” White said. “They've embraced taking ownership, to a certain extent. But we have to take more ownership.”
That seemed to be the mission from the outset of the second half. Eight seconds in, Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Gators the lead (for good, as it turned out). Then after an Eagles turnover, Finney-Smith drove the paint and zipped a blind feed to Egbunu for a dunk.
“They did a great job of defending us the first half,” Finney-Smith said. “We just had to start collecting stops in a row. We came out and got like three in a row and just built from it.”
That was the start of a 10-0 run that soon became a 22-5 spree to rocket UF out to a 16-point lead with 10 minutes remaining. Meanwhile, the Eagles made just two of their first 13 shots and got a little loose with the ball.
“When you turn it over like we did i the second half, it didn't give us a chance to get our defense set,” FGCU coach Joe Dooley said after his team shot just 26 percent after the break. “I thought Florida got on the backboard. Dorian Finney-Smith is a terrific player and Egbunu is a huge factor protecting the rim.”
Finney-Smith and Egbunu were the lone Gators to score in double figures, as they combined to to make of their 27 shots. That and the collective jolt the team brought from the locker room -- and the 18 points of 12 second-half turnovers were the positives. They also totaled just one turnover together, a big reason UF finish with a season-low six for the game.
"Those guys were really good," White said. "They played with a 'We're-not-going-to-lose' mentality, despite us having our struggles."
The rest of the Florida team, though, was just 12-for-44 from the floor (27 percent) . The starting backcourt tandem of Kasey Hill and KeVaughn Allen went 5-for-21. The Eagles reserves outscored the Gators' 27-10.
“We're just struggling to shoot the basketball,” White said. “We all need to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out how we can help.”
Until a solution can be found, better energy from the outset will serve the Gators well.
