With forward Dorian Finney-Smith returning to the starting lineup, Jacob Kurtz started the game from the bench.
But that didn’t stop the senior walk-on from providing valuable playing time during Florida’s 85-47 win against Yale on Monday in the O’Connell Center.
Kurtz led Florida’s bench players with 25 minutes on the court Monday night. The senior forward from Oveido, Florida, finished the night with a career high 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 clip from the field to go along with a game-high-tying six rebounds.
In all, the Gators’ bench contributed 31 points, while the Bulldogs were able to tally just 12 points from its non-starters.
“The big focus was right from the tip, we wanted to play for 40 minutes,” Kurtz said. “So whenever my number was called, I wanted to go out there with a lot of energy and passion.”
Kurtz capped his scoring with a two-handed dunk to give the Gators a 72-29 lead with 10:14 remaining in the game.
Frazier shooting helps teammates: Michael Frazier found his spots against Yale on Monday.
After shooting at or below 40 percent in every game this season following the Miami loss on Nov. 17, the junior shooting guard rattled off a 7-of-11 shooting clip (63.6 percent) from the field against the Bulldogs, while also going 4 of 7 from beyond the arc en route to an 18-point outing.
“I try not to let my confidence waver, but this definitely feels good,” Frazier said.
Frazier is now making 44.4-percent of his field-goal attempts this season including 39.2-percent from downtown.
“We don’t need him to necessarily score,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “We need him to take open shots and good shots. And when he does that, it creates spacing and it creates opportunities for other guys. And sometimes, when you’re a really, really good shooter, actually it’s not you that benefits. It’s the other guys around you that benefit because of spacing.”
Notes: After dishing out a career-high-tying 10 assists on Monday, sophomore point guard Kasey Hill is averaging 4.9 assists per game, which is tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference. … The Gators recorded 10 steals on Monday against the Bulldogs, marking the second time in three games that Florida recorded double-digit steals. UF is fourth in the SEC with an average of eight steals per game and freshman Chris Chiozza leads the conference in total steals (21).
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Jacob Kurtz dribbles the ball during Florida’s 85-47 win against Yale in the O’Connell Center.
