Torrid shooting pushes Gators to rout of Aggies
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams and Florida forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. were reunited on Wednesday night in Reed Arena, but the story of the game was Gators guard Andrew Nembhard — a big part of Florida’s overall hot shooting.
The Gators defeated the Aggies 78-61 before about an announced crowd of 6,237 in Reed Arena, in handing A&M its second consecutive loss.
“We really moved the ball well — that’s the best we’ve moved the ball all year,” Florida coach Mike White said. “That’s about as well as we’ve played.”
Blackshear spent his first four seasons, including a redshirt, with Williams at Virginia Tech. But when Williams left Virginia Tech for A&M last spring, Blackshear eventually chose to transfer to Florida for his final season.
He finished 1-of-2 from the field and was mostly a non-factor, although he made all six of his free throws. Blackshear was not made available to the media after Wednesday’s game, but spoke with reporters before leaving Gainesville, Fla., on Tuesday for College Station.
“He’s really good at motivating people,” Blackshear said of Williams. “He’s someone who is really attentive to details and taught us a lot, in terms of understanding the game. That’s why (the Aggies) are so good defensively.”
The Aggies were not on Wednesday, mainly because of the Gators’ longrange shooting. Florida made 12-of-27 3-pointers, including 5-of-10 by Noah Locke and 3-of-4 by Scottie Lewis. Meantime, Nembhard made 9-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-5 3pointers in collecting a game-high 24 points.
Nembhard had scored eight points at the break before catching fire.
“He really settled in and showed a lot of toughness playing on a bum ankle,” White said of his hot-shooting sophomore against a lagging Aggies defense. “He played with poise and made good decisions.”
The Aggies (11-12, 5-6 SEC) lost consecutive games for the first time since mid-January, when they dropped home games to LSU and South Carolina. The Gators (15-9, 7-4), who last fall many figured a shoo-in for the NCAA Tournament, have won three of their last four games following a subpar start to league play.
“Their talent is superb,” Williams said. “In studying them, I understand all of the preseason hype.”
Williams was asked if Blackshear almost came to
A&M from Virginia Tech last summer.
“It was never close,” Williams said.
Asked what it was like to face a former player, Williams responded, “I don’t know. I’ve never done it before.”
Williams then added that it was much more about Blackshear in facing the Gators on Wednesday.
“Their team is good — all of them, including him,” Williams said. “They put stress on you in every possible way.”
The Gators led 37-34 at halftime thanks to making eight of their 17 3-point attempts in that span, including 4-of-6 by Locke. The Aggies also made only half their free throws (6 of 12) in the first half, so they were happy to be within three points with 20 minutes to go.
The game was essentially decided with a little more than nine minutes remaining. That’s when Florida’s Tre Mann missed a 3-point attempt, but teammate Keyontae Johnson chased the ball as it was going out of bounds and kept it in play with a hustling toss behind his head.
Mann later wound up with the ball on the extended possession, and coolly sank a 3-pointer from the corner to lift the Gators to a 58-45 lead, as some of the fans on hand began heading for the exits.
Florida leads the all-time series with A&M 9-4 and has won two of its last four games in Reed Arena.
The Aggies stay at home on Saturday against Georgia. The Bulldogs defeated the Aggies 63-48 on Feb. 1 in Athens, Ga. Bulldogs dynamic freshman Anthony Edwards, who might be the top pick in this summer’s NBA draft, had 29 points and 15 rebounds.