No. 20 Florida hits 14 3-pointers, beats Baylor, 81-60

GAINESVILLE, Fla.—After Chris Chiozza hit his first 3-pointer of the game, he figured he would take another.

When that one went in, his confidence really started to soar.

“Once I hit two, I said, ‘I’m just going to come down and shoot another one to see what happens,’” he said. “They went in, so I was like, ‘All right, I might shoot some more.’”

No one on Florida’s bench would have complained had he taken every shot the rest of the day.

Chiozza scored 20 points, including 13 straight late in the first half, and the 20th-ranked Gators used a barrage of 3-pointers to beat Baylor 81-60 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday.

Jalen Hudson added 17 points for Florida (15-6), which bounced back from a midweek loss to South Carolina to win for the ninth time in its last 11 games.

The Gators lost that one at the 3-point line. Coach Mike White’s team handled the Bears (12-9) thanks mostly to a red-hot shooting performance from behind the arc.

Chiozza and Hudson led the way. Chiozza hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range, including consecutive treys during his 13-point spurt over a five-minute span in the opening 20 minutes. Hudson made 4 of 6 from behind the arc.

Chiozza chipped in six rebounds and six assists.

“We tried to take away his passing and he gets you with his scoring,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.