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Friday, March 29, 2024
<p>Dorian Finney-Smith dribbles the ball during Florida's 79-34 win against Jacksonville.</p>

Dorian Finney-Smith dribbles the ball during Florida's 79-34 win against Jacksonville.

In Florida’s (6-4) third consecutive win since falling to No. 11 Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas on Dec. 5, the Gators defeated Jacksonville (2-9) 79-34 on Sunday.

Florida’s second-half struggles were a thing of the past at the O’Connell Center. The Gators held the Dolphins to just 10 points in the second half while putting up 45 points of their own in the final 20 minutes.

“They scored 10 points in the second half but I think you also have to look at their shooting percentage,” Coach Billy Donovan said. “This has not been an explosive offensive team but we certainly did a better with our intensity level then we did in the first half.”

Starter Dorian Finney-Smith, who contributed 25 of Florida’s 79 points, showed some explosiveness as he broke his career high with ten minutes left to play in the second half. The junior forward has been recovering from a hairline fracture in his left wrist.

“I think for him, every day that goes by it gets a little bit better,” Donovan said. “I think he can feel a difference.”

Frazier was right behind Finney-Smith with a season-best 22 points in 29 minutes. Frazier and Finney-Smith combined to contribute 47 of Florida’s 79 points — 13 points more than Jacksonville’s entire team scored.

“I think we play well with each other, we compliment each other,” Frazier said. “We can play off of each other, so whenever you get two guys that’s feeling it one night, that’s always good because we open up things for our other teammates as well.”

Freshman guard Chris Chiozza made his first career start with Kasey Hill battling a stomach virus. In 27 minutes on the court, Chiozza was 0-for-3 from the field, he missed one three-point shot and two free throws while managing four assists and four rebounds.

“I think he was a little bit nervous and uptight and I think that, that bled into his energy a little bit,” Donovan said. “It was a really good learning experience for him.”

Donovan said Hill did not attend the team’s pre-game shoot around as doctors were trying to put him on IVs because he had been vomiting. In his first off-the-bench performance of the season, Hill ended up playing 21 minutes, totaling two points, three assists and one rebound.

In the first three minutes of the game, starters Frazier, Finney-Smith and Devin Robinson made four consecutive three-point shots.

A near five-minute lull plagued Florida starting at the 13:39 mark. In that time the Gators missed eight shots while the Dolphins completed two jumpers, a layup and a free throw. Finney Smith broke the lull with a dunk at the 8:46 mark. He followed that up with a three-point shot that widened Florida’s lead from one to six.

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By the end of the first half the Gators had managed a 10-point lead over the Dolphins. Florida came out of halftime and scored 28 points in the first nine and a half minutes while holding Jacksonville to just seven points.

“We picked it up on defense, we got stops and we got out and ran,” Finney-Smith said of the Gators second half start. “The first couple of buckets we got two three-pointers and we just shared the ball and played defense.”

Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa

Dorian Finney-Smith dribbles the ball during Florida's 79-34 win against Jacksonville.

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