The Florida Gator men’s basketball team moved to 6-4 on the season by dominating the Jacksonville Dolphins (2-9) 79-34 Sunday afternoon at the O’Connell Center.
The Gators led by just 10 points at halftime, but outscored JU 45-10 in the second period to pull away in dominating fashion.
Forward Dorian Finney-Smith led Florida by scoring a career-high 25 points, shooting 10 of 15 from the field while making 5 of 7 three point attempts.
“The one guy I thought elevated our team in the second half in particular was Doe-Doe,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “He did a really, really good job you know, rebounding, effort, those kinds of things.”
This is the healthiest Finney-Smith has been since he injured his left non-shooting hand in the Gators’ season opener against William & Mary.
“I think he’s at least moving to a point of being healthier each day,” Donovan said. “We get a little bit of time here before we play again with finals, hopefully the week will help him get closer to being one hundred percent.”
Guard Michael Frazier II added 22 points, making 8 of 14 shots from the field and going 6 of 11 from three. The Gators made a season high 13 threes in the contest.
Despite the 45 point margin of victory, Donovan wasn’t entirely pleased with the performance, in particular with his team’s effort in the first half.
“I think, that’s part of these guys’ growing process there,” Donovan said. “It takes an enormous amount of mental discipline and focus to really understand what you need to do and how you need to play. And I really thought from a competitive standpoint, I know the scoreboard didn’t say it, but I thought they outworked us, out-competed us.”
Florida now gets six days off before their next game, Saturday against Wake Forest in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Tip off from Sunrise, FL is set for 5:00 P.M., with coverage on Country 103.7 The Gator.
Click below to listen to audio from this story: