No. 12 Florida handles Arkansas behind Barry’s 14

Canyon Barry scored 14 points, his best game since injuring an ankle two weeks ago, and No. 12 Florida handled Arkansas 78-65 on Wednesday night.

Kasey Hill, KeVaughn Allen and Chris Chiozza added 12 points apiece for the Gators, who bounced back from their first loss in 10 games and clinched the No. 2 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament next week.

Florida (24-6, 14-3) controlled the game much of the night, building a doubledigit lead early, extending it to as many as 16 in the first half and then holding on after the break.

Arkansas (22-8, 11-6) made it close midway through the second half, cutting the lead to 51-45 on Trey Thompson’s straightaway jumper. But the Gators responded with clutch shot after clutch shot to make it a 14-point game again. Barry hit a driving layup out of a timeout, Devin Robinson followed with a 3-pointer from the wing and then Keith Stone completed a three-point play.

Jaylen Barford led the Razorbacks with 18 points. Moses Kingsley added 17 points and nine rebounds. Arkansas had won five straight and 10 of 13.

Coach Mike Anderson’s biggest issue was his team allowing the Gators, who improved to 9-1 at home this season, to shoot 51 percent from the field.

Stone finished with eight points, his best performance since mid-January. Florida had another comeback outing from Gorjok Gak, who missed the previous seven games because of a sprained foot. He had two points and two rebounds in 8 minutes.

But Barry was the story. The senior swingman got one of the largest ovations on Senior Night — Barry, Hill, center Schuyler Rimmer and forward Justin Leon were honored — and he delivered.

V.J. Beachem scored 22 points Wednesday night to lead No. 19 Notre Dame to its sixth straight win. Bonzie Colson added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Irish (23-7, 12-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have all but locked up a top-four finish in the ACC and a double-bye for next week’s conference tournament. Colson’s double-double was his ACCbest 18th of the season. Ky Bowman scored 19 points and Mo Jeffers had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Boston College (9-21, 2-15 ACC), which has lost 13 in a row and 15 of 16, including a Feb. 14 home game against Notre Dame in which the Eagles let a 10-point lead slip away in the second half.