National Basketball Association
Florida 68, Louisiana State 62
When: 1:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 9, 2016
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Tony Henderson, # Byron Jarrett, # Kipp Kissinger
Attendance:
11350
By The Sports Xchange
LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons stuffed the stat sheet Saturday, but it was not enough to prevent Florida from taking a 68-62 Southeastern Conference win at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
Simmons collected game-high totals of 28 points and 17 rebounds while also doling out four assists, but committed eight second-half turnovers as the Tigers (9-6, 2-1 SEC) absorbed their first conference defeat.
Forwards Justin Leon and Dorian Finney-Smith each scored 14 points to pace the Gators (10-5, 2-1), coming off an 83-69 drubbing at Tennessee Wednesday night. Florida took the lead 20 seconds into the game and never let go, although Simmons threatened late.
Scoring his team's last 12 points, Simmons drew LSU within 63-62 on a 3-point play with 1:12 remaining. But center John Egbunu tossed in a jump hook with 48 seconds left for a three-point lead, followed by a walking violation on Simmons.
Egbunu, who finished with 13 points, canned two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to seal the outcome. The Gators won despite 38.1 percent field-goal shooting and 56.7 percent foul shooting.
Guard Keith Hornsby added 10 points for the Tigers, who lost despite a 50-38 rebounding advantage.
Top Game Performances
Louisiana State |
|
Florida |
Ben Simmons 28 |
Scoring |
Dorian Finney-Smith 14 |
Ben Simmons 4 |
Assists |
Chris Chiozza 8 |
Ben Simmons 17 |
Rebounds |
Justin Leon 9 |
Ben Simmons 14 |
Free Throws Made |
John Egbunu 5 |
Antonio Blakeney 1 |
Steals |
Kasey Hill 3 |
Darcy Malone 1 |
Blocks |
John Egbunu 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Louisiana State
|
62 |
35.7 |
3-20 |
19-27 |
10 |
45 |
3 |
4 |
17 |
Florida
|
68 |
38.1 |
3-18 |
17-30 |
11 |
36 |
2 |
5 |
5 |