Florida Gators

WHAT HAPPENED: Graduate-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while freshman guard Scottie Lewis tallied career highs of 13 points, eight rebounds and lit up TD Arena with a couple highlight-reel dunks Friday afternoon, as the Gators blasted the cross-state rival Hurricanes in second-round action of the Charleston Classic. Blackshear, who played just five minutes and was ejected from Thursday's opening-round defeat of Saint Joseph's for a Flagrant-2 foul, looked well rested in scoring UF's first eight points, including a pair of 3s, on the way to hitting six of 12 shots, three of four treys, and five of six free throws. Lewis was terrific, especially helping key a Florida defense that held the Hurricanes to 33-percent shooting in the second half after hitting 50 through the first 20 minutes. Sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard had eight points and nine assists, while his freshman backup, Ques Glover, added a career-best 11 points off the bench. Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson had his second big game of the tournament with 12 points and seven boards. Florida led by five at the break, 38-33, after a hot-shooting first period by both teams (UF 56 percent overall and 7-for-12 from 3; Miami 50 percent and 5-10). The Hurricanes came out of the locker room with a bounce, making their first four shots and tied the game at 45. UF led just 52-49 with just over 13 minutes left when the Gators went on a 12-0 tear that eventually became a 21-2 blitz and had the partisan Florida crowd living large with a 22-point lead inside four minutes. Florida shot 59 percent for the game and knocked down 10 of 19 from the arc (53 percent) and converted 14 Miami turnovers into 21 points. 
 
WHAT IT MEANS: Not just a second straight win against a solid opponent, but a blowout of an Atlantic Coast Conference team that came with big strides with the overall basketball product (Read: Offense) than five days ago when very little looked good in a loss Connecticut. The win also sets up yet another crack at a good team here, maybe even a really good team. The Gators have now defeated the Hurricanes two straight and lead the all-time series 47-24. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: That was the McDonald's All-America version of Lewis. On both ends. Five-for-10 from the field, hit one of his two 3s, plus had three blocks, two steals and put a lid on tiny UM guard Chris Lykes, who scored 14 of his team-high 16 points before Lewis guarded him out of the first media timeout of the second half. It was a three-point game at the time. Soon, it wasn't. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Florida did its offensive damage against a Miami defense that was allowing just 42-percent shooting overall and 28.2 from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Gators were facing a UM squad that had averaged 76.2 points, shot 44 percent overall and 37 from deep. 

UP NEXT: Florida (4-2) will play either No. 18 Xavier (5-0) or get a rematch with UConn (3-1) in the tournament title game Sunday night at 8:30 on ESPN. The Musketeers and Huskies play at 9:30 p.m. Friday to determine the championship-round participant on their side of the bracket. If UF gets UConn, it'll be the second meeting between the two teams in a week, following that 62-59 loss last Sunday at Storrs, Conn. In other words, a chance to further gauge what, if any, progress has been made. If it's Xavier in the final, well, that's the 18th-ranked team in the country.