Chiozza steers struggling Gators to a victory
GAINESVILLE — UF senior point guard
turned in his most complete performance of the season to help the reeling Gators to a 72-63 win Wednesday against James Madison.
Chiozza finished with 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and no turnovers as the Gators (7-4) picked up just their second win in six games since reaching No. 5 in the national rankings a little more than two weeks ago.
“He played one of his best games of the season,” coach
said. “It was nice to see him back.” Shooting guard
chipped in 17 points — his highest total in six games.
The Gators led by just 57-52 with 7:31 remaining but pulled ahead on a 9-0 run that started on a 3-pointer by shooting guard
Hudson ended the run with a layup and finished with 10 points.
James Madison (4-9) could not cut the lead to fewer than seven points the rest of the way.
Two record-setting seasons at UF was enough for
to know it was time to move on.
Piñeiro announced Tuesday night he would be leaving the Gators a season early to enter the NFL draft.
Piñeiro, a redshirt junior, should be among the top kickers available after leading the nation with a 94.4-percent success rate on field goals (17 of 18).
Piñeiro ended the season with 16 straight makes, but the Miami native and former soccer standout did miss two extra points this season, including one during a 17-16 loss to LSU.
In two seasons at UF, Piñeiro has converted on 38-of-43 field-goal attempts for a percentage of 88.4 — best in school history.
Following a five fieldgoal day Nov. 18 against UAB, including two 50-yard efforts, Piñeiro said he did not realize until recently he would eligible to enter the NFL Draft.
“I might look into Piñeiro said at the time. New UF coach
was prepared for the inevitable. Mullen convinced to commit to the Gators. McPherson, the secondranked kicker in the 2018 class, previously had committed to Mullen and his staff at Mississippi State. it,”