At the Buzzer: Florida 82, La Salle 69 (Instant Breakdown)

AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 82, La SALLE 69

WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators have yet to find their shooting eye, but they found a nice defensive spurt early in the second half Wednesday to open a fat cushion against the Explorers and go on to victory at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Senior forward Kevarrius Hayes had 12 points, hitting all five of his shots from the floor, to go with six rebounds in just 16 minutes, fifth-year senior guard Jalen Hudson had a team-high 15 points, and freshman forward Keyontae Johnson tallied 12 points. Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard had four points, seven assists and three steals. An eight-point halftime lead for the home team dipped to seven just after intermission, but Florida sped off on a 17-1 run over the next five and a half minutes, hitting eight of 10 shots along the way and forcing La Salle into seven straight misses and four turnovers during that span to open a 23-point cushion. Of those 17 points, Hayes and Johnson accounted for 13 of them. The Gators, who emptied the bench with nearly three minutes left and up by 23, shot 55.6 for the game, including 60.7 in the second half, and defensively forced 19 Explorers turnovers that converted to 30 points. Eleven of the 12 scholarship players who took the floor for the Gators got in the scoring column.

UF guards Jalen Hudson (left) and Mike Okauru scrap for a loose ball in first-half action of Wednesday night's win over La Salle at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

WHAT IT MEANS: A second straight win (plus, further distancing from that ugly opener against Florida State) and some fine-tuning before the schedule starts to heat up again. There's still so much work to do, though, especially when it comes to shooting the ball.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Hayes' energy and want-to are never questioned, but his offensive productivity took a big dip last season after a promising sophomore year stepping in after the season-ending injury to John Egbunu. Hayes had just one game of at least 10 points and five rebounds last season (at Missouri), but now has one of those through the first three games. Also, in hitting all five field-goal attempts, Hayes is now 9-for-9 from the floor on the season.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Remember how the Gators went 6-for-24 in the opener at Tallahassee? Then 8-for-28 in their first win Friday against Charleston Southern? Well, throw in Wednesday's 3-for-12 night and Florida is at 17 of 64 for the season from deep, which converts to 26.5 percent. When Coach Mike White talked in the preseason about this team being potentially better offensively than last year's team, he certainly factored in the long ball. That number has to start creeping up.

UP NEXT: Florida (2-1) doesn't play again for a week, but once the Gators get back on the floor it'll be in Paradise Island, Bahamas, at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 21 against Oklahoma (2-0). The date against the Sooners, who next play Wofford on Saturday, will be the first of three games in three days, with UF facing either Stanford or Wisconsin on the tournament's second day (Thanksgiving Day), and either Virginia, Butler, Dayton or Middle Tennessee State for the third game.

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At the Buzzer: Florida 82, La Salle 69 (Instant Breakdown)

Players Mentioned

John Egbunu

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Keyontae Johnson

Andrew Nembhard

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At the Buzzer: Florida 82, La Salle 69 (Instant Breakdown)

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Players Mentioned

John Egbunu

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Keyontae Johnson

Andrew Nembhard

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