GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida starting five were all transfers, including three that arrived this past offseason. The first two players off the bench? Yeah, they were transfers too, with one a newcomer. Just how they would all mesh in Monday night's exhibition game against Division II Embry-Riddle was the question on the mind of everyone who Monday night into Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
UF fans, players and coaches likely weren't very impressed after a sluggish, cold-shooting first half, but the Gators — specifically, graduate guard Brandon McKissic (new) and fifth-year senior backup playmaker Tyree Appleby (old) — got hot midway through the second half and ran away from the Eagles 80-57 in their preseason warmup.
McKissic, who starred the last four seasons at Missouri-Kansas City, and Appleby combined for 21 of 24 points — with six 3-pointers — during a 28-10 run that broke open a close game and nixed any thoughts of ERAU, the aeronautical college from Daytona Beach, being the first team in 21 years to hand UF an exhibition loss.
After the Gators shot just 31.3 percent over the first 20 minutes and made just four of 18 from distance, McKissic and Appleby paired to make seven of their 10 long-range attempts after the break. McKissic, who had six points in the first half, finished with a game-high 20, while Appleby had 13 points, seven assists and three steals off the bench. Fifth-year senior forward Anthony Duruji had 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals before fouling out after just 20 minutes. Senior forward Colin Castleton had 10 points and nine rebounds.
"That was the game plan: play hard, have fun," Duruji said. "Those are things we can control."
As opposed to whether shots fall. UF made just 10 of its 32 in the first half, with the 6-foot-11 Castleton, a 2021 second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection, scoring just three points and failing to make a field goal.
UF had an early 12-point lead in the second half, but guard Romeo Crouch (20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists) helped ERAU, which shot 42 percent for the game, hang around, by keying a mini-run of 9-2 that pulled the Eagles within 41-37 with just over 14 minutes to play.
"We put each other on notice that it was getting a little too close and our energy was dead," McKissic said. "We had it kick it up a notch."
Fifth-year senior point guard Tyree Appleby (22) hopped off the bench to deliver 13 points, including four 3-pointers, to go with seven assists against the Eagles.
That's when Appleby drilled a corner 3-pointer, then, after a turnover on the defensive end raced back to the same corner and took a pass from grad-transfer guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) in transition, buried another 3, got fouled and hit the free-throw.
Seven points in 25 seconds, all by Appleby.
Over the next four minutes, McKissic dropped four 3s and even Castleton, who attempted one all last season, got into the attack by draining one from the top of the key. A pair of free throws each from Fleming and Castleton made it 69-47 with just under five minutes remaining.
"We shared it, but didn't shoot it great or finish at the rim great, either. There's a lot to work on," said UF Coach Mike White, whose team officially opens the 2021-22 season Nov. 9 at home against Elon. "I thought we showed in glimpses that this is a better passing team than we'd had here in a few years, if not a while. We didn't pass it quite as well [Monday}. We bobbled a lot of balls for whatever reason. We could have had a few more assists if we made a few more shots."
As it was, the Gators finished with 18 assists against nine turnovers, a 2-to-1 ratio that White would gladly take after a '20-21 season had more than 80 more turnovers than assists. And that was on a night the team shot just 38 percent overall and 32 from 3, including an 0-for-6 line from Penn State transfer Myreon Jones, the best shooter on the team.
"I thought we played hard," Duruji said. "We weren't the most disciplined. They got a lot of open shots, so hats off to Emory-Riddle. … We just need to continue to make strides."
