The No. 18 Florida men’s basketball team increased its record to 3-2 on the year after defeating the Blazers of UAB 56-47 Thursday night in a tournament in the Bahamas
After falling to the Hoyas from Georgetown on Wednesday night, the Gators were desperately looking to avoid an 0-2 start in Atlantis, and thanks to a strong push in the final few minutes, the Gators were able to avoid that travesty.
In a similar fashion to their loss to the Hoyas, the Gators struggled from the field shooting just 34 percent hitting 18 of 53 shots from the field. The team shot also shot just 30 percent from beyond the arc and 56 percent from the charity stripe. Despite the loss, the Blazers (2-4) shot 42 percent from the field and 71 percent from the line.
The Gators were led on the night by sophomore shooting guard Michael Frazier II who finished with 14 points. Frazier hit 4 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Freshman point guard Chris Chiozza was huge for the Gators on Thursday night notching 13 points, shooting 50 percent from the field. Chiozza was also instrumental on the defensive end finishing with three assists and six steals on the night, all in the first half.
Redshirt junior Dorian Finney-Smith was inserted back into the starting lineup after leading the team in scoring just one night ago and he finished with six points to go with four assists.
The Gators also saw decent performances out of two sophomores. Chris Walker finished with seven points and six rebounds and showcased some flashes inside that Gator fans have been waiting to see. Point guard Kasey Hill looked to build off of his strong performance to close out Wednesday night’s game and he did just that scoring the team’s first five points. Hill was also key down the stretch as the Gators closed out the game on an 11-0 run. Hill finished with eight points, five assists and three rebounds connecting on 3 of 7 shots from the field.
Overall, the Gators outrebounded the Blazers by nine and finished with seven less turnovers. Despite another sloppy game, the Gators were able to battle and receive a much needed win.
The Gators will now look to finish out their trip to Atlantis on a good note as they meet the No. 5 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels (4-1) fell to Butler in their first game of the tournament on Wednesday but rebounded to defeat UCLA on Thursday and should provide a tough test.
Tip off between the Gators and Tar Heels is set for 8pm on Friday.