Chris Chiozza stood with his shoulders square at the basket, toes at the free-throw line.
He started his shooting motion.
“You can make it!” someone in the student section yelled.
He didn’t make it.
The Gators were losing by three points. They had been winning by 11 in the first half.
Noon games have been a challenge for the Florida this season, having lost one at home and having barely edged out an overtime win in another.
But after missing his free throw, Chiozza bounced back and took the Gators on a 12-2 run that broke UF’s noon curse. The Gators (20-5, 10-2 SEC) beat Texas A&M, 71-62, in front of 10,732 fans in the O’Connell Center, extending their winning streak to six games.
Forward Justin Leon scored a game-high 18 points and splashed the three-pointer that gave the Gators the lead for good.
Guard Canyon Barry added 12 points and extended his free-throw streak to 39 in a row, a UF record.
“We haven’t played great (in) the noon games,” Barry said. “But I think it shows the maturity of this team to be able to snap out of it.”
Center John Egbunu notched his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He flushed a halfcourt alley-oop from Chiozza and didn’t turn the ball over for the first time in seven games
“I thought he was the player of the game for us,” White said. “We gave him the game ball, and he only took five shots.”
Florida led until the last last minute of the first half when Aggies (13-11, 5-7 SEC) guard Admon Gilder hit a three-pointer to knot the game at 27.
One minute into the second half, Texas A&M went on a 8-0 run to take a three-point lead.
The Gators began the half shooting 2-of-14 from the field.
“Defensively, I thought we gave them problems for about 30 minutes,” Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said.
“They had some turnovers in the first half that led to us getting some baskets to get right back in it.”
With Florida’s better scorers neutralized, Texas A&M continued to build a lead.
Forward Devin Robinson, UF’s third-highest scorer, shot just 2-of-9 from the field for four points.
UF point guard Kasey Hill had arguably his worst game of the year: a season-low three points and season-high-tying five turnovers.
But Florida’s depth came to the rescue.
UF made six straight shots, scoring 12 points in three minutes to reclaim the lead.
Chiozza and Barry led the charge, and UF’s bench would finish the game with a 27-6 scoring advantage over Texas A&M’s.
White said Barry’s presence off the bench comes in clutch when guys like Hill and Robinson are struggling.
“When he hits a shot or gets fouled, our guys I think exhale,” UF coach Mike White said.
White was happy to hear Florida has no other noon games on it’s schedule.
"Thank goodness,” he said. “Can you promise that?"
UF guard Canyon Barry dribbles during Florida's 71-62 win over Texas A&M on Feb. 11, 2017, in the O'Connell Center.
