Postgame grades: Allen, Gators find offensive rhythm in second half to knock off Georgia
Despite another miserable first half offensively, the Gators do just enough to steal a road win over conference rival Georgia in a thrilling 57-53 effort.
It was a tale of two halves.
After starting the game ice cold, the Gators finally started hitting some shots in the second half and surged past the Georgia Bulldogs for a monumental SEC road win at the Stegeman Coliseum.
Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen led the way with 19 points — 14 of which coming in the second half. It was his made free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining that would extend Florida’s lead to four and ultimately solidify the victory.
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Leading scorer Dorian Finney-Smith was held to just seven points on the night and the team shot an abysmal 24 percent from the field in the first half, collectively. In addition, the Gators only converted one of their first 19 (!!) shots from the three-point line.
Florida’s defense, though, was yet again solid all game, holding the Bulldogs to just 32.4 percent shooting while the Gators improved their own percentage to 50 from both the floor and beyond the arc in the second half.
It wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win. And when you’re this close to March and the NCAA tournament, that’s all that matters.
Here’s how the Gators fared individually in tonight’s report card.
Grades
Allen was just the offensive spark the Gators were desperately hoping for, finishing 7-of-13 from the floor, including 4-for-7 in the second half and a trio of big three-pointers to elevate Florida over Georgia.. Guard. Freshman. KEVAUGHN ALLEN. A
B+. Egbunu didn’t dominate on the inside, but he was consistent, going 4-for-8 for 10 points. The sophomore center also crashed the glass for seven boards and totaled five blocks on the night.. Center. Sophomore. JOHN EGBUNU
B-. Hill did exactly what he needed to do tonight: facilitate. The junior only had seven points in the contest, but he assisted on five baskets and hauled in a couple of rebounds.. Guard. Junior. KASEY HILL
DEVIN ROBINSON. C+. Robinson only took five shots against the Bulldogs — and he connected on two of them. Six rebounds, an assist and a block added to the sophomore forward’s contributions.. Forward. Sophomore
C. Leon, like most of the Gators, had a rough shooting night, going 2-for-7 (0-of-3 from the three-point line). He did help out elsewhere, however, grabbing eight rebounds, blocking a shot and forcing a turnover.. Forward. Junior. JUSTIN LEON
C. Chiozza didn’t get nearly as much action tonight, but he made a crucial lay-in late in the game that Florida would ultimately build off of. The sophomore ended the evening with four points and an assist.. Guard. Sophomore. CHRIS CHIOZZA
Senior. DORIAN FINNEY-SMITH. D. Finney-Smith was never able to get anything going tonight, finishing 1-of-10 from the floor, including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. He still managed seven points thanks to some made free-throws as well as seven rebounds and two assists. Overall, an off night for the senior.. Forward
Coming up
The Gators move into a three-way tie for third place in the SEC standings with the timely win over rival Georgia. But the road doesn’t get any easier for Florida as it travels to South Carolina (21-5, 8-5 SEC) this Saturday followed by matchups with Vanderbilt (15-11, 7-6 SEC) and conference leaders LSU (16-9, 9-3 SEC) and No. 14 Kentucky (19-6, 9-3 SEC) in the upcoming weeks.
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Beating the Bulldogs certainly helps erase the memory of last Saturday’s home loss to Alabama — and keeps the Gators alive in the SEC race for the time being.
Florida must build off of tonight’s victory and vastly improve offensively before entering its most brutal stretch of the season.