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<p>Florida guard Kasey Hill drives the ball against Alabama forward Jimmie Taylor during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)</p>

Florida guard Kasey Hill drives the ball against Alabama forward Jimmie Taylor during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

It was all too close in Coleman Coliseum.

With under 20 seconds left in No. 23 Florida’s gritty battle with Alabama, UF guard Kasey Hill stood at the top of the key with the ball. The 6-foot-1 senior tossed up a shot as the shot clock expired and clanked it off the side of the rim.

It didn’t matter anyway.

Hill did everything for his team as the Gators (13-3, 4-0 SEC) defeated the Crimson Tide (9-6, 2-1 SEC) to extend their winning streak to six games.

Hill, who tested positive for strep throat on Monday, scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists and snatched five steals in 35 minutes of action to seal the 80-67 win on Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa.

“Our guys are growing up. Our culture’s improving. Our leadership is increasing. And guys banded together,” UF coach Mike White said. “(I’m) very proud. There was a lot of adversity out there.”

But while adversity showed up later, the Gators seemingly couldn't miss at the start of the game.

Florida hit five of its first six shots, and five different players contributed to an early 13-6 lead.

The Gators remained in a steady offensive groove for much of the half. Six-foot-eight redshirt freshman forward Keith Stone, playing the center position while 6-foot-11 center John Egbunu sat on the bench with foul trouble and sophomore forward Kevarrius Hayes rested, drilled a three-pointer to give Florida an 18-point lead with about five minutes to go in the opening frame.

Then the wheels fell off.

Led by freshman forward Braxton Key, who fired off 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, the Crimson Tide went on a 15-4 run to cut into the Gators’ lead.

Instead of dominating, Florida headed into the locker room clinging to a 38-31 advantage.

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The Gators proceeded to miss six of their first eight shots in the second half, and what once was a double-digit lead quickly turned into a deficit as Alabama took over. The Tide, fueled by tough defense, went on a 15-7 run to take their first lead of the night with under 15 minutes to play.

With leading scorer KeVaughn Allen, who had just six points on 2-of-7 shooting, suffocated by Alabama’s defense, the Gators had to look elsewhere for points.

They turned to their redshirt freshman.

Stone scored eight of UF’s next 10 points to keep his team afloat.

He led the Gators with 14 points and hit all three of his three-pointers.

“We got down and defended,” Stone said of his team. “We know that if we get stops on the defensive end, it’ll translate to offense.”

Eighteen turnovers and 16 missed free throws by Alabama evaporated the momentum it had gained throughout the night. A three-pointer by graduate transfer Canyon Barry, who chipped in 13 points, put Florida up 75-65 with just over a minute remaining and ended all hopes of a Crimson Tide comeback.

“You gotta find ways to win differently, of course. You gotta find ways to win different types of games,” White said. “Tonight (was) certainly an example of both of those things.”

A radio broadcast contributed to this report.

Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.

Florida guard Kasey Hill drives the ball against Alabama forward Jimmie Taylor during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

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