GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The numbers jumped off the halftime stat sheet, and were remarkably similar in the final box score. Stony Brook, a capable mid-major opponent out of the America East Conference, torched the Florida defense Wednesday afternoon for nearly 51 percent for the game, yet the Gators were quite pleased with how they guarded the Seawolves.
Delighted, actually.
The final score had something to do with it. UF never trailed in what turned into a relatively easy 87-62 victory at Exactech Arena. The Gators, in winning a second straight and exiting for the holiday break on a high note, shot 53.3 percent and put four players in double-figure scoring, led by guard/forward Phlandrous Fleming Jr.'s game-best 20 points, including season-high four makes from the 3-point line.
But what the Gators (9-3) were most happy about afterward was their all-around attention to detail to the scouting report and execution of the game plan on that end of the floor. The Seawolves (7-5) came into the game shooting 35.2 percent from the 3-point line, including 41 long-ball makes — better than 10 a game — during a four-game winning streak they brought to town. As far as the Florida coaches were concerned, the only way SBU was going to go back to Long Island with a fifth straight win and power-conference upset was by getting in rhythm and bombing away from deep.
Never happened. The Seawolves went just 5-for-19 from distance. Two games ago, they'd nailed 14 in a win over Central Connecticut State. They win 13 in the first of the four straight wins, that one coming against Hofstra, which three nights ago upset No. 24 Arkansas on the road.
"We made them take tough 2s," Fleming said.
Junior center Jason Jitoboh drops two of his career-best 12 points over SBU's Jaden Sayles.
The Gators scored the game's first 10 points and never trailed. They not only stayed in their 2-2-1 defensive pressure for the better part of the first half, but had the legs, effort and stamina to blanket the Seawolves on the perimeter and close out and force shooters to bounce the ball instead of square up. The result yielded some layups and floaters and rim-running bank shots, but the UF defense made up for a bunch of those SBU's makes by forcing 17 turnovers that converted to 27 points. More than half those giveaways (9) were before halftime — versus just three for the home team — and allowed UF, behind its 56-percent shooting through 20 minutes — to take a 48-27 halftime lead. UF had 19 points off turnovers before the break.
"At half, you look at the numbers, look at the field-percentage defense, it was a little shock. We'd given up some straight-line drives and some angles were incorrect," Florida coach Mike White said. "That said, our attention to detail defending the 3 was elite."
It was not elite just two games ago. In a loss to Maryland, the Gators had terrible attention to detail with regard to defending the 3-point, as the Terps got a bunch of open ones and hit better than 60 percent. It cost the Gators dearly in a two-point lost.
Maybe they learned a lesson.
Stony Brook, which made just two of seven 3s in the first half, got no closer than 18 in the second half, despite another 50-percent period (16 of 32). And at 3-for-12 from the 3-point line after the break, the Seawolves weren't going to get back in the game.
"We denied wings, denied as much as we could," Fleming said. "We mad them bounce it and made our size defeat their size."
Fleming, back in the starting lineup after senior guard Myreon Jones was scratched due to health and safety protocols, went 6-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the arc. His 20 points were the most for the Charleston Southern grad-transfer in a UF uniform.
Senior forward Colin Castleton had 15 points and seven rebounds, while his backup, 6-foot-11, 290-pound junior center Jason Jitoboh tallied career bests of 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists in just over 14 minutes. It was Jitoboh's fourth consecutive solid outing, which is an encouraging sign relative to backup minutes behind Castleton, considering the start of the Southeastern Conference slate awaits the Gators when they return from Christmas break next week.
"Coach and the staff have been preaching inner-confidence in me, telling me that I'm way better than I think," Jitoboh said. "I've just been trying to play my role and get in the best condition that I can possibly get."
Reserve forward CJ Felder, the transfer from Boston College, came off the bench with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists over 21 minutes, also tops for his time as a Gator. Fifth-year senior point guard Tyree Appleby scored just four points, but had a season-high seven assists to go with three steals. Freshman Kowacie Reeves had his best game to date. He scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
Fifth-year senior forward Anthony Duruji had just seven points, but also the play of the game when his mid-court steal ended with a 360-degree run-out dunk.
As far as movement (both with and without the ball, and especially on defense) it was the most connected the Gators have played in several weeks. Florida's nine wins equals its most before the start of the SEC season during White's seven seasons, matching the start for the 2016-17 team.
"Our focus was really good over the last three days, I would have been surprised if we didn't play well," White said. "The guys really embraced maintaining the level of focus necessary for the break. These [holiday-season] games can be tricky, so I thought the maturity was pretty good."
