Gators suffer humbling loss
Reeling Florida can’t contain Loyola-Chicago
GAINESVILLE — The Florida Gators’ hangover continues.
A Nov. 26 collapse against Duke still lingers.
Loyola-Chicago is the latest team to capitalize, stunning the nation’s fifth-ranked team 65-59 Wednesday night in the O’Connell Center.
Two days after an 83-66 loss to Florida State, the Gators looked to get back on track against the Ramblers, a 16.5-point underdog.
Instead, Loyola-Chicago (9-1) staked an early lead and rarely were not in control against the Gators, who led just 93 seconds.
“I’ve done a very poor job with this team defensively. It starts with me,” White said.
He said he hoped his team was humbled by the loss.
“We cannot shoot out way into being an elite team,” White said. “It’s not going to happen. I hope our guys know that now.”
A driving layup by UF senior point guard Chris Chiozza cut the Ramblers’ lead to 61-59 with 1:29 remaining. From there, the Gators ran out of gas to fall to a Loyola-Chicago squad that lost by 26 points Nov. 28 at Boise State.
Two days earlier in Portland, Ore., the Gators’ season took a turn for the worse.
Leading top-ranked Duke by 17 points, UF fell apart during the final 10 minutes of an 87-84 loss. The Gators (5-3) since have lacked energy and confidence. Teams have outscored UF by 44 points in the past 90 minutes.
Looking to shake up his lineup after the FSU loss, UF coach Mike White benched leading scorer Jalen Hudson and fellow guard KeVaughn Allen, ending a streak of 68 consecutive starts for the preseason first-team All-SEC selection.
But Loyola-Chicago opened the game shooting 10 of 13 to stake a 27-13 lead.
The Gators would respond with runs of 8-0 and 9-0 to eventually cut the lead to 32-31. A dunk with 17:02 remaining in the game by center Kevarrius Hayes following a stolen inbounds pass gave the Gators 39-38 lead — their first since a 4-3 advantage 17 seconds into the game.
Loyola-Chicago answered with a pair of layups to go back ahead 42-39 as UF could not contain Ramblers guard Aundre Jackson. The 6-foot-5 Jackson capitalized on his matchup with 6-foot-2 Allen to score three consecutive baskets in the paint. A 3-point by Donte Ingram pushed Loyola-Chicago’s lead back to 49-43.
Jackson finished the game 10-of-12 shooting for a game-high 23 points. Big man Cameron Krutwig added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting as Loyola-Chicago finished 26 of 50 from the field (52 percent).
No UF player even scored in double figures as the Gators shot 36.9 percent (24 of 65) and 2 of 19 from 3-point range.
Seminoles win
Braian Angola scored 18 points and CJ Walker added 15 as Florida State remained unbeaten with a 96-71 victory over Loyola-Maryland on Wednesday.
It is the second time this season Angola has led the team in scoring. He had 21 points in a win over Citadel on Nov. 24.
The Seminoles, who were playing their second game in three nights after beating No. 5 Florida on Monday, are 8-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season when they won their first 10 games. All but one of FSU's victories have been by 17 points or more.
M.J. Walker scored 14, including four 3-pointers, before fouling out and Phil Cofer added 12 as Florida State led throughout. The Seminoles led by as many as 26 (84-58) on a Cofer jumper with 6:33 remaining.
Chuck Champion and Isaiah Hart each scored 15 points for the Greyhounds (1-7), who have lost four straight.