National Basketball Association
Florida 66, Texas A&M 62
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Lee Cassell, # Brent Hampton, # Doug Shows
Attendance:
8591
By SportsDirect Inc.
Florida 66, Texas A&M 62: Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 points and seven rebounds as the Gators overcame a poor showing at the foul line to edge the visiting Aggies.
Eli Carter scored 11 points while Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza had 10 apiece for Florida (15-15, 8-9 SEC), which forced 16 turnovers but shot 20-of-38 from the foul line. Alex Murphy chipped in nine points, Chiozza grabbed six rebounds and Kasey Hill recorded eight assists to help the Gators avenge a 63-62 loss to the Aggies on Feb. 14.
Alex Caruso led Texas A&M (20-9, 11-6) with 20 points while Jalen Jones had 15 along with nine rebounds. Kourtney Roberson chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds but leading scorer Danuel House was held scoreless on 0-of-10 shooting for the Aggies, who lost for the second time in their last six games.
Texas A&M opened the game with 10 straight points but Florida answered with a 14-2 run and took a 26-23 lead into the break. Murphy scored six points during a 14-0 run to help the Gators extend their lead to 47-31 with 7:41 left before the Aggies ended their scoring drought with six straight points to stay within striking distance.
The Aggies pulled within 11 on Roberson’s three-point play with 4:13 left, but Carter answered with five straight points to help the Gators regain control. Florida, which came in ranked as the SEC's worst free-throw shooting team at 64.4 percent, struggled at the foul line in the final minutes but sealed the victory when Hill converted one of two free throws with six seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida leading scorer Michael Frazier II missed his seventh straight game due to a high ankle sprain. … House, who entered the contest shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range, missed all six of his shots from beyond the arc. … Gators F Jacob Kurtz sat out the second half after being poked in the right eye with two minutes left in the opening period.
Top Game Performances
Texas A&M |
|
Florida |
Alex Caruso 20 |
Scoring |
Dorian Finney-Smith 12 |
Kourtney Roberson 4 |
Assists |
Kasey Hill 8 |
Jalen Jones 9 |
Rebounds |
Dorian Finney-Smith 7 |
Jalen Jones 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Eli Carter 5 |
Alex Caruso 3 |
Steals |
Dorian Finney-Smith 3 |
Danuel House 1 |
Blocks |
Jon Horford 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Texas A&M
|
62 |
35.6 |
7-22 |
13-18 |
12 |
37 |
1 |
5 |
16 |
Florida
|
66 |
47.5 |
8-20 |
20-38 |
15 |
25 |
5 |
8 |
14 |