At the Buzzer: Florida 73, Marshall 67 (Instant Breakdown)
Friday, November 29, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
No. 24 FLORIDA 73, MARSHALL 67
No. 24 FLORIDA 73, MARSHALL 67
WHAT HAPPENED: Sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard hit a back-down jumper in the paint with 19 seconds, fourth-year junior forward Dontay Bassett followed with a huge blocked shot, then sophomore guard Noah Locke added two free throws that allowed the 24th-ranked Gators to get out of Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center with a victory over the stubborn Thundering Herd late Friday night. Reserve guard Ques Glover scored a team- and career-best 14 points off the bench, while sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson added 13 points and five rebounds on a night it took the Gators more than a half to get anything going on offense. Bassett had six points, seven rebounds and that huge block in 17 reserve minutes, doing his work due to foul trouble for UF leading scorer and rebounding Kerry Blackshear Jr. (10 points, 4 rebounds, 23 minutes). After shooting 48 percent from the floor and nearly 41 percent from the 3-point line over three games in capturing the Charleston Classic last week, the Gators made just 30 percent their first-half shots and missed all 10 from long distance to trail 33-25 at halftime. UF opened the second half, though, by scoring the period's first 10 points to take its first lead since early in the game on the way to 61-percent shooting after intermission. The Herd twice went back up, but an elbow jumper by Nembhard, a 3-pointer by Locke and two free throws from Johnson made up a run of seven points and gave the Gators a lead they never relinquished. Not that it was easy. Marshall, down 11 with two minutes to go, scored nine straight to trail by just two, 69-67, after forward Iran Bennett (16 points, 6 rebounds) converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with 45 seconds left. That's when Nembhard posted his man, 5-foot-11 guard Jarrod West, for the big bucket and four-point lead in the closing seconds to help the Gators finish the win.
WHAT IT MEANS: Four straight wins for the Gators, but not a lot of comfort in the way they played or executed on offense in the first half. Good thing they have eight days before their next game, and the start of a conga line of good teams and big-time tests -- all away from home -- over the next three weeks. Read on.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Take a bow, Dontay. He didn't play in two of the three games at Charleston, but Bassett's contributions in this game, especially with Blackshear in foul trouble, were pivotal. Six of his points came on offensive rebounds and putbacks, but his blocked shot in the closing seconds was his biggest play of the game.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Yes, the Gators shot 30 percent in the first half and went 0-for-10 from long distance, but they played those 20 minutes without a single assist. Not one. That's hard to do, even when shooting horribly. Their first assist didn't come until the 13:32 mark of the second half when Nembhard found Locke on the wing for the aforementioned 3 that was also the team's first made trey (on the 12th attempt). Florida finished with just four assists, all courtesy of Nembhard, versus 14 turnovers. UF also went just 4-for-18 from deep (22 percent), but 4-for-8 in the second half.
UP NEXT: Florida (6-2) won't play another home game for nearly a month, with a road date against unbeaten Butler (7-0) at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse next on the docket. Look for the Bulldogs to vault into the Associated Press Top 25 next week. They were the fourth also-receiving-votes team outside the poll last week, then defeated Missouri and previously undefeated Stanford to win the Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City. The game is the back end of a home-and-home series that began last Dec. 28 when Butler came to the O'Dome and got smashed 77-43, an outcome that came a month after the Bulldogs defeated the Gators 61-54 in the fifth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. This year's version of the Bulldogs is much better than last year's. After facing Butler, UF plays Providence in the Hall of Fame Invitational at Brooklyn, N.Y., then gets currently No. 15 Utah State in the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise on Dec. 21 at Sunrise, Fla. The Gators won't be back in the O'Dome again until Dec. 28 against Long Beach State, the final non-conference game before opening the Southeastern Conference season a week later.
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