Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza drives the lane Wednesday night on his way to a career-high 17 points and eight assists in the 87-83 win over Arkansas.
Gators Outlast Rallying Razorbacks at Free-Throw Line
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- If you're an ESPN watcher, you'll probably see one of the Florida basketball plays of the year over the next 24 hours or so.
Inside a minute to play Wednesday night -- with the shot clock winding down and the Gators holding a six-point lead -- UF point guard Chris Chiozza had the ball at the top of the key and went into shake-and-bake mode. Chiozza split two Arkansas defenders, taking the ball behind his back then through his legs, and with a Razorbacks defender closing in lobbed an alley-oop pass to forward Devin Robinson flying in from the baseline for a dunk.
"He surprised me with that one," Florida senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. "That was crazy."
Not as crazy, though, as Arkansas pouring in 11 points over the final 37 seconds, including a trio of 3-pointers, to throw a wicked scare into the Gators before freshman guard KeVaughn Allen swished two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to ice an 87-83 victory for a relieved crowd of 9,013 at the O'Connell Center.
Finney-Smith scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Chiozza paired a career-high 17 points with eight assists, but for the second straight game the worst free-throw shooting team in the league was sensational at the line. UF finished 30 of 36 (83.3 percent), including 8-for-10 in the final 1:26, as the Razorbacks hacked a 10-point lead with 2:20 left to just two before Allen's clinching free throws.
"The last minute of the game, I felt like I aged a year," Florida coach Mike White said.
If any gray hairs emerged, they did so after a fifth win in six outings for the Gators (15-7, 6-3), who four days earlier dismantled No. 9 West Virginia and should feel pretty good about the last two wins.
"It wasn't a great game," Chiozza said. "It was decent."
Decent won't do it when UF goes to No. 20 Kentucky, but that's a conversation for the next few days.
In the interim, the Gators should feel pretty good about navigating some difficult circumstances -- starting with a natural emotional letdown coming off the West Virginia win -- and beating an attacking, highly efficient offensive team like the Razorbacks (11-11, 4-5) despite a poor night shooting from the 3-point line (5-for-19).
Overall, Florida shot 51 percent from the floor, scoring at least 80 points for the fourth time in the last five Southeastern Conference outings, and put five players in double figures. White also got the win while making a statement about his culture.
Sophomore center John Egbunu did not start the game; wasn't even the second center off the bench. Instead, White chose to start freshman Kevarrius Hayes and go with sophomore Schuyler Rimmer as the first reserve because they practiced better in the run-up to the game.
"I'm going to reward guys for working," White said. "Especially with a team that's searching for that consistency."
Egbunu, though, got in the game late in the first half and finished with 14 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes, drawing praise from his coach with the way he responded to being challenged.
"The other guys had a better week of practice than I did. Credit to them," Egbunu said. "I came in and just tried to do my job."
Egbunu had back-to-back dunks on drive-and-kick feeds from guard Kasey Hill (11 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) about five minutes into the second half that got the home crowd jacked, but every time the Gators threatened to walk the lead out, the Hogs answered.
"Our guys didn't go away and gave themselves a chance," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said.
A 12-3 run by UF turned a 3-point game into a 12-pointer, with Chiozza and Finney-Smith both hitting 3s during the spree. The margin was eight, 78-69, when Egbunu made one of two free throws with 1:26 remaining, but then came the first of four 3-bombs from the Hogs, the SEC's top 3-point shooting team, led by Anthlon Bell (24 points) and Dusty Hannahs (20 points), who combined to go 7-for-12 from deep for the game -- in the final 1:19 to make things dicey down the stretch.
Free throw shooting, of all things, made the difference. Allen, the Arkansas native and two-time prep player of the year there, hit his two despite a Razorback chirpping in his ear. He finished with 10 points.
"I'm proud of our guys stepping up," said White, whose team came in a league-worst 63.2 percent from the line. "It wasn't our best all-around effort, but it was by far our best at foul line. I thought we showed a lot of mental toughness. Arkansas, as good as they were, we found a way."
Crazy.
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