Ques Glover scored 14 points off the bench, Keyontae Johnson added 13 and No. 24 Florida took control late in the second half to defeat visiting Marshall 73-67 in their nonconference game Friday night in Gainesville, Fla.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Noah Locke each had 10 points for the SEC's Gators (6-2), who won the board battle 43-31.
Florida shot 60.7 percent (17 of 28) in the second half, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
Blackshear fouled out when he received a technical foul with 1:33 remaining and Florida ahead by nine.
Then ahead 69-64, the Gators committed a 10-second violation with 43 seconds left. Marshall's Iran Bennett (16 points) followed with a three-point play to make it a two-point game.
Andrew Nembhard's fadeaway foul-line jumper with 21 seconds to play made it 71-67. On Marshall's next possession, Florida denied the Thundering Herd down low. Locke grabbed the loose ball, was fouled and sank two free throws with nine seconds left to seal it.
Jannson Williams scored 15 points and Taevion Kinsey added 14 for Conference USA's Thundering Herd (2-4), who shot 40.3 percent overall and 28 percent (7 of 25) from behind the arc.
Jumpers by Glover and Blackshear Jr. gave Florida a 54-47 cushion with 8:02 left.
Following a media timeout, the Gators scored nine of the next 12 points -- a run capped by Locke's back-to-back jumper and 3-pointer -- to build a 13-point lead and prompted Marshall to call a timeout at 5:49.
Marshall actually held a 33-25 halftime advantage despite missing its first eight shots and going the first 6:45 without a field goal. The Gators failed to get a field goal in the final 2:59.
But Blackshear scored six points as the Gators opened the second half with a 10-2 run to tie the score at 35. The graduate transfer forward, who entered averaging a team-high 13.3 points, was limited to two points -- two free throws -- and 11 first-half minutes partly due to picking up his second personal foul at 6:55.
Both teams shot poorly in the first half. The Thundering Herd shot 38.7 percent (12 of 31) overall and sank just 4 of 15 from behind the arc. The Gators shot 30 percent (9 of 30) and missed all 10 attempts from 3-point territory.
The teams struggled at the free-throw line, too. The Thundering Herd sank 5 of 9, and the Gators hit 7 of 12.
Florida had eight second-chance points thanks to six offensive rebounds. The Gators held a 24-21 overall first-half rebounding edge
Marshall went on a 12-2 run to build a 22-16 lead with 6:31 to go in the half. Darius George and Kinsey each had four points to fuel the spurt.
Backup freshman point guard Glover's 10 points led the Gators.
--Field Level Media
Marshall | Florida | |
Jannson Williams 17 | Scoring | Ques Glover 14 |
Jarrod West 5 | Assists | Andrew Nembhard 4 |
Iran Bennett 6 | Rebounds | Dontay Bassett 7 |
Taevion Kinsey 4 | Free Throws Made | Keyontae Johnson 6 |
Darius George 3 | Steals | Scottie Lewis 4 |
Jannson Williams 4 | Blocks | Scottie Lewis 3 |