Gators rumble to a win
UF displays winning instinct to knock out upstart Bonnies
DALLAS — Mike White has talked about this Florida team lacking fight.
He said sometimes he wishes this team would get just mad and take some initiative.
Finally, Jalen Hudson offered up the elusive killer instinct.
Hudson’s monster put-back dunk with eight minutes left against St. Bonaventure put an exclamation point on a dominant second half, helping No. 6 seed UF dispatch No. 11 seed St. Bonaventure 77-62 during an NCAA Tournament game at America Airlines Center late Thursday.
White preached all week the Gators needed to show some gumption and they finally did against the Bonnies.
Sparked by some energy from point guard Chris Chiozza, the Gators (21-12) snapped out of a first-half lull with nine consecutive points to start the second half and it lit a fire under a team that seemed to lack enthusiasm.
After Mike Okauru started the second 20 minutes with a 3-pointer, Chiozza set up a field goal by Egor Koulevchov.
Chiozza then added a steal, a layup and another layup and the man they call Cheese had the Gators rolling.
UF would eventually outscore St. Bonaventure 12-4 to extend its
lead to 41-29 and from there the Gators just kept piling on.
Midway through the second half the Gators hit the Bonnies with another flurry and after a 3-pointer by KeVaughn Allen, a basket by Dontay Bassett and another bucket from Allen everyone was getting in on the act and Florida led it 54-35 with 8:51 remaining.
Florida was led in scoring by Koulechov’s 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting from 3-point range. Hudson added 15.
If someone had told White his team would go nearly eight minutes in the first half without a field goal, he never would have believed Florida would still be leading at halftime. It was true, however. St. Bonaventure had plenty of chances to take over in the first half, but as much as the Gators fumbled through the first half, the Bonnies never really took advantage.
UF had pulled out to an early eight-point lead, but there was never any solid momentum in the Gators’ favor.
St. Bonaventure (26-8), however, woke up.
The Gators lacked a killer instinct to put the Bonnies away and the more opportunities Florida provided, the more St. Bonaventure started to fight its way back.
That’s when the Gators’ drought started.
UF grabbed its biggest lead of the game to that point at 20-9 after a 3-pointer by Keith Stone with 10:35 left before the break, but UF made just two field goals the rest of the half.
Meanwhile, the Bonnies went on a run of their own and started to get the Dallas crowd rooting for the underdog.
A 3-pointer and dunk by Matt Mobley helped fuel St. Bonaventure’s surge and the Bonnies rattled off 10 consecutive points.
Before the run was over, St. Bonaventure had a 22-21 lead and the Gators were looking for an answer. They finally got it. Okauru and Koulevchov both hit 3-pointers inside the final three minutes of the half, the Bonnies never scored again after taking the lead and UF regained the advantage 27-22 at intermission.
Florida advances to face No. 3 seed Texas Tech Saturday.
The Red Raiders earned a 70-60 win over No. 14 Stephen F. Austin.
The tipoff time and television coverage have not yet been announced.