Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Despite the sparse attendance at Mike White's post-game press conference Wednesday night, the Florida coach talked his usual 12 or so minutes after the Gators pulled away late in the second half for a 72-63 defeat of James Madison at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. 

He spoke about the stellar play of senior point guard Chris Chiozza, about seeing more energy from his defense, and the need to get something (anything) going offensively in the post. 

But his summation of the evening was best wrapped in this 11-word holiday-season bow. 

"This one could have gone down like the Loyola Chicago game," White said. 

Ah, but it didn't. Instead of allowing an inferior foe dictating pace and pressure, the Gators (7-4) staved off the Dukes (4-9) — who twice trailed by just two in the second half, and by only five with about seven minutes remaining — with a spurt of nine straight points to avert another low-major disaster. 

Chiozza scored a game-high 19 points, dished seven assists, grabbed, six rebounds and had three steals to zero turnovers over 35 minutes, all the while playing sticky defense against JMU guard Stucky Mosley, whose 10 points were nearly 11 below his season average of 20.7. Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen awakened from his recent slumber with 17 points, including a trio of 3-pointers after hitting just four over the previous four games. Junior guard Jalen Hudson was the only other Gator in double figures, finishing with 10 points, three of them on a long ball that kicked in the 9-0 run to help put things away. 

Afterward, White praised the defensive intensity showed by a team that had lost four of the previous five, and along the way too often looked disinterested on that end of the floor. After the Dukes made it a five-point game, the Gators buckled down and allowed just one field goal (on nine attempts) over the final 7:31. 

"We made some mistakes defensively but I thought we sat in a stance and guarded the basketball at another level, a level the guys hadn't shown in the past. It started this week in practice," said White, noting his team took four charges and forced 18 turnovers that led to 23 points. "That's as hard as this team has played, so I'm pleased with the effort. I thought we got better." 

James Madison shot 37.5 percent for the game, but did hit five of 10 from distance after the break to turn a 10-point lead into a two-point game. UF mostly struggled shooting the ball (37.9 percent for the game, just 10-for-31 from deep) and seemed out of whack against the Dukes' zone before picking up its collective aggression and driving into the JMU creases.

"We just had to be more aggressive and attack — instead of just throwing the ball all around the perimeter — and then we got whatever we wanted," Chiozza said. "That's something we can learn from anytime we face zone; not just pass, but attack the gaps and create for other people." 
 
Both Allen and Chiozza did it the most, with the former taking some heat from the latter (and several other teammates) for being passive with both his moves and shots.

Said Chiozza: "We've been on him a lot lately."

Allen came into the game with just three free-throw attempts over the previous games, despite being the second-best from the line on the team at 88.2 percent. Three in three games? That number, alone, reflected Allen's unwillingness to take the ball to the hole. 

Maybe he's listening now.

"At times, when I have a drive, I hesitate and they tell me to shoot it," Allen said. "I have these thoughts running in my head. When I'm open, I just have to shoot it." 

Even one of Allen's freshman teammates jumped him at halftime. 

"I told him, 'You're one of the best players in the country! Go out there and shoot the ball!' " said guard Mike Okauru, who came off the bench for seven points in 11 productive minutes. "Sometimes, he just gets so unselfish. I told him, 'Kevaughn, you're open! Just shoot the ball!' Usually, he just laughs. This time, he goes, 'OK, I got you.' "

Up just 57-52, the Gators were hunting for something against the active bodies and high hands of the JMU zone when Chiozza skipped a pass over the defense to a wide-open Hudson in the corner. His timely 3-ball took the lead to six points. After a defensive stop, Chiozza drew a foul on a drive and sank two free throws to push the margin to eight. And after another stop, it was Allen probing the defense, drawing a foul and making it a 12-point game. 

Hudson's driving layup, after more good defense, made it 66-52 with 5:23 left. The Dukes cut the 14-point lead to seven inside a minute, but got no closer. 

Afterward, no one on the home team was pounding his chest after being a foe from the Colonial Athletic Association by single digits. But that wasn't the point. 

"We could have beaten these guys by 25 and scored 105 points and still been horrific defensively. I've seen that movie before," White said. "It's not about how many we can score, it's about being the best team we can be." 

Steps were taken. If only little ones. But it's always better (especially against a low-major program) to go forward than backward. 

'Cause we've seen that movie before, also.

"It feels good to get a win,"  Chiozza said. "You never want to underestimate people. Any team can come in here on any night and have a chance to win."