The Rewind: Virginia holds off Florida, 73-70
The Florida Gators committed 16 turnovers Friday night in Charlotte, N.C., against Virginia. But the last one hurt the most.
With Florida behind by two and time winding down, Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. lost control of the ball and Virginia grabbed it. After the Cavaliers sank a foul shot, a desperation Florida heave at the buzzer missed.
Final score: Virginia 73, Florida 70.
In the second game of the season for both programs, this one had numerous twists and turns.
The Gators took control early. Virginia owned the middle part of the game. Then, the two teams went back and forth down the stretch.
Florida falls to 1-1. Virginia is 2-0.
For the first five minutes of the game, the Gators seemingly could do no wrong. Passes were crisp. Players got open. Baskets were made. And on the other end, the defense was solid and just about every shot from the opponent was contested as Florida went up 14-7.
But from there, things went South fast.
With an 11-0 run, the Cavaliers took the lead. Then in the second half, they appeared to take control and led 54-43 with 13:27 left.
But Florida battled back. A Clayton layup tied it at 69-all with 1:18 on the clock. Two Blake Buchanan free throws then put the Cavaliers back in front and Virginia held on from there.
Notables from the Florida Gators-Virginia game
***KEY STATS***
-Virginia’s bench outscored Florida’s 26-4. Buchanan, a freshman forward, was the Cavaliers’ top reserve. He had 18 points to go along with seven boards.
-The Cavaliers had just six turnovers.
-Both teams made seven 3-pointers. But Virginia’s came on 18 attempts while Florida had 25.
-The Gators were very good on the boards; they outrebounded Virginia 47-30.
-Guard Will Richard led the Gators with 16 points. Guard Riley Kugel and center Micah Handlogten had 14 each. Buchanan was Virginia’s top scorer.
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-The Gators blocked four shots.
-After starting 7 of 10 from the field, Florida finished 26 of 65 — 40 percent.
***KEY MOMENTS***
-Trailing 71-69, Clayton drew a foul but with a chance to tie the game with 51.8 seconds left, he made just one of two from the line.
-Handlogten fouled out with 2:44 left. He finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. The Gators trailed 64-62 when he exited the game.
-After the Gators pulled ahead 57-55 in the second half, the Cavaliers scored seven straight points.
UF had a great second-half rally
-With 8:15 left on the clock, Kugel scored a layup in traffic while being fouled. He missed the free throw but Handlogten was there for the rebound and putback to give the Gators their first lead of the second half. It sparked a 12-0 run.
–From the 14:34 mark of the first half until a 3-pointer by Florida’s Julian Rishwain with 10:13 left before the break, Virginia scored 11 straight points.
***WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE GATORS***
Florida plays host to Florida A&M on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
