The 18th ranked Florida men’s basketball team lost for the third time in five games, this time to number five North Carolina 75-64 Friday night in a tournament in the Bahamas. The loss drops Florida to 3-3 on the season, and it leaves the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament finishing sixth out of eight teams..
The Gator offense was the downfall, as Florida shot just 33% from the field while making just 6 of 27 three point attempts.
Florida got behind early and never led after allowing North Carolina to score the first 12 points of the contest. The Gators didn’t get on the board until nearly seven minutes had been played.
Florida outscored the Tar Heels over the final 32 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in early.
The Gators trailed by 16 at halftime after UNC’s JP Tokoto hit a buzzer beating three pointer to end the first half. From there, Florida outscored the Tar Heels by five points in the second half, but never got within six points of the lead.
Sophomore point guard Kasey Hill was a bright spot for the Gators. He was one of the team’s only offensive threats, scoring a career-high 20 points while going 5 of 12 from the field and 10 of 12 from the free throw line.
Junior guard Michael Frazier II scored in double figures for the sixth time in six games, going 5 of 13 from the field and 4 of 10 from three point range on his way to 17 points.
Eli Carter returned to action for the Gators playing 13 minutes. The junior guard sat out Thursday’s game against UAB as his sprained left ankle heals.
The Gators will get a week off to regroup before traveling to Kansas to face the 11th ranked Jayhawks on December 5th. Tip off from Lawrence, Kansas is scheduled for 9 p.m next Friday.