Sophomore Kevarrius Hayes filled up the score sheet in Thursday's win over East Tennessee State.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
ORLANDO – In his first NCAA Tournament game, Gators big man Kevarrius Hayes went from victim to thief.
Hayes grabbed a rebound in the opening seconds of Florida's 80-65 win over East Tennessee State only to have the ball snatched away by ETSU's A.J. Merriweather. It happens. Still, Florida coach Mike White sensed Hayes, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, might be dancing in the clouds with March Madness officially here.
"I could say I was a little nervous,'' Hayes said afterward.
"I was, too," White quipped.
Hayes' role took on added significance this season when starting center John Egbunu was lost for the season with a knee injury. With ETSU anchored inside by a pair of active forwards in Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Tevin Glass, Hayes was needed. Kevarrius Hayes was a defensive presence for the Gators on Thursday, recording six steals and two blocks. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/For UAA Communications)
White calmed him down with an early pep talk and Hayes filled the stat sheet from there, finishing with seven points, seven rebounds, six steals and two blocks. Hayes' six steals set a new school record in an NCAA Tournament game and are the most by a Gator since Eddie Shannon had five against Weber State in 1999.
"Coach explained it to me, to slow down a little bit,'' Hayes said. "He could tell I was a little bit sped up. And from there on, I just kind of settled in."
Hayes was at his best in the second half with the No. 13-seed Buccaneers still hanging around, led by guard T.J. Cromer's 19 points. Following a layup by Chris Chiozza that gave the Gators a 14-point lead, ETSU coach Steve Forbes called a timeout.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Cromer turned the ball over and Hayes took off for a dunk to put the Gators up 59-43 with 8:35 left. Twice over the next four minutes the Buccaneers threatened to trim the lead back to single digits, but Hayes came up with a pair of blocks, first on Desonta Bradford's layup and later on Cromer's drive.
"He provides that spark on the defensive end,'' Chiozza said. "He hustles. He plays as hard as anybody I've ever seen play. Offensively, he's going to get on the glass and try to do anything he can't do and be a team player and not force any shots."
Hayes did a little bit of everything Thursday.
Those six steals certainly made a difference.
"It's not so much practice. I guess I was very fortunate,'' Hayes said. "It's something new. We're playing for something much greater than ourselves, playing for each other, and now it's like where it really counts."
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GAK ATTACK
Freshman center Gorjok Gak didn't figure to be much of a factor in Florida's NCAA Tournament opener considering he had played only once in the past 10 games.
But when Hayes was out, Gak was in. The 6-foot-11 Australian chipped in a pair of dunks to finish with four points and a rebound in seven minutes. Might not seem like much, but it was Gak's most productive game since Dec. 1 when he scored a career-high four points in a runaway win at North Florida.
Gorjok Gak during Thursday's win. (Photo: Kelly Streeter/UAA Communications)
Gak was hampered late in the season by injuries but is healthy enough now to help out when called upon.
"I just knew to stay ready, always to stay ready,'' Gak said. "Try to do whatever I could when I was on the court."
Gak said he had no expectations of playing Thursday. He entered the game with 8:03 left in the first half and Florida nursing a 24-20 lead. With the game tied at 28, Gak snatched an offensive rebound off Kasey Hill's missed shot and dunked it to put the Gators back up.
Moments later after Justin Leon's steal, Gak was fouled and went to the line. He air-balled his first free throw and softly touched the front of the rim his second.
Roommate Canyon Barry was pleased to see Gak produce on the big stage other than for those free throws.
"That's my room dog,'' Barry said. "Was huge for us. We all know what he's capable of. He's going to be huge for Florida in the coming years and it's nice for him to come out and kind of show people what he's made of.
"Now if we can just get him to switch to under-handed free throws he'll stop air-balling."
Gak didn't get back to the line in the second half, but he did toss down another dunk that put the Gators ahead 49-42 with 12:29 left. Gak paid tribute to the injured Egbunu in reflecting on his March Madness moment.
"Doing it for my big brother John, who's hurt,'' Gak said. "Trying to step up for him. I got stronger, bigger and now I'm just more ready to play."
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GAME TIME
The No. 4-seed Gators (25-8) face No. 5-seed Virginia on Saturday in the late game at Amway Center. Florida and Virginia will tip off at approximately 8:40 p.m. on TNT.
Meanwhile, the early game features Florida State, which defeated Florida Gulf Coast University late Thursday, against Xavier, who knocked out Maryland. The FSU-Xavier tip is scheduled for approximately 6:10 p.m.
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PIPE IT UP
You may have noticed the Gators laughing as they broke their huddle and took the court on Thursday.
A reporter did. Here is the exchange:
Q: Before I ask my main question, what was cracking everybody up when you came out for the opening tipoff?
THE MODERATOR: Devin, can you remember?
MIKE WHITE: It's okay. You can throw me under the bus.
DEVIN ROBINSON: So, we was in the huddle, and we listened to the song by Migos, if you guys know who Migos are.
MIKE WHITE: I do now. I don't know who sang it.
DEVIN ROBINSON: It's called "Pipe It Up." Coach was like, "Come on, guys, let's pipe it up. I love that song." We were like "What?" It was just funny. He just got us going."
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THREE LINKS TO MEET VIRGINIA
The Gators face Virginia on Saturday. The Cavaliers beat UNC-Wilmington in the opening round. The latest on the Cavaliers:
--Virginia goes small to defeat UNC-Wilmington writes David Teel of the Daily Press.
