ORLANDO — In a game where he scored just seven points, missed eight of his 11 shots and went to the free-throw line only twice, Patric Young still found a way to be a dominant force for the Gators.
Despite the lackluster statline, the senior center had one of his best defensive games of the year by recording a season-high four blocks as well as limiting Pitt to 24 points in the paint compared to Florida’s 36.
On Friday, the Panthers’ Talib Zanna said that Young played dirty, which was not intended to be a slight to the Gators’ center but instead a compliment.
Either way, Young had some fun with the media regarding the quote following Florida’s 61-45 victory over Pitt.
“I’m a dirty player,” Young said. “I just go out there and scrap and fight and claw and try to grab rebounds as best I can. I know I got more than eight. I want to go back and look at film because I was all over the boards today.”
The Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year finished the game with eight rebounds – six of which came on the offensive end to help Florida earn nine second-chance points in the contest.
Fellow senior Will Yeguete also contributed to the Gators’ solid defensive effort Saturday by adding four rebounds, a steal and a block as well.
Yeguete said the key to his game was playing with more energy than Thursday’s matchup with Albany in the Round of 64.
“I was just trying to be aggressive defensively,” Yeguete said. “We knew going into the game it was going to be a battle.”
Coach Billy Donovan said having the 6-foot-8 forward in the rotation for this year’s postseason has made a world of difference especially on the defensive end of the floor.
“He’s one of those guys that look down at the stat sheet and he’s probably going to take anywhere from two to five shots per game, but he just does so many different things in the press,” Donovan said. “He’s such a great cover guy with our defense. He’s a great help defender.”
The frontcourt play of Young and Yeguete helped shut down the paint and force Pitt to shoot more around the perimeter. As a result, the Panthers finished the game just 19 of 51 from the floor and just 4 of 17 from beyond the three-point arc.
In the second half, Florida held Pitt to just 23 points on 9-of-26 shooting. Donovan said he was most impressed with the adjustments the defensive crew as a whole made during the break.
“I thought our defense in particular, both halves it was good, but I thought in the second half it really, really was good,” Donovan said. “And these guys did a really terrific job from start to finish.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn
Patric Young, who finished with a season-high four blocks, guards Pitt's Josh Newkirk during Florida's 61-45 victory on Saturday.
