At halftime of Tuesday’s matchup with Alabama, Florida looked like it might not be able to break free of its funk.
UF was mired in a 26-26 tie after shooting just 30.8 percent over a sloppy first 20 minutes, and a third consecutive loss looked like a distinct possibility.
But, once the buzzer sounded to start the second half, the Gators took off.
No. 14 Florida (20-6, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) opened the final 20 minutes on a 16-0 run, pulling away from Alabama (16-9, 5-6 SEC) en route to a 61-52 win Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Patric Young played a key role in the spurt, scoring eight of his game-high 19 points on three dunks and a layup.
“I told him after the game this is a by-product of how hard he has worked the last two days in practice,” coach Billy Donovan said. “He has been phenomenal. Just his effort, his energy, pushing through things. He really gave us a huge lift.”
Young and fellow frontcourt starters Brad Beal and Erik Murphy combined for 47 of the Gators’ 61 points by exploiting favorable matchups against a depleted Alabama frontline.
The Crimson Tide was without JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell — the team’s top two scorers and rebounders — after both received indefinite suspensions Saturday.
Despite a foot injury, Young connected on 9 of 12 shots while playing just 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
“I’m not completely at 100 percent, but I’d say [Tuesday] was the best I’ve felt in a while,” Young said.
Murphy and Beal each added 14 points, with Murphy hitting 4 of 8 shots from beyond the arc.
The duo also made an impact on the defensive end, where Beal had two steals and two blocks while Murphy had four steals and one block.
Those efforts were just part of a dominating UF defense that helped spark the second-half run by switching to a suffocating zone.
Florida held Alabama without a field goal for the half’s first 9:06.
The Crimson Tide entered the contest 342nd in the nation in 3-point shooting at 27.3 percent, and those struggles continued Tuesday. Alabama was never able to shoot Florida out of the zone, hitting only 4 of 16 shots from beyond the arc.
The Gators also forced 18 turnovers, a number that matched Alabama’s total of made field goals. Florida converted those takeaways into 24 points.
“The zone in the second half helped us,” Donovan said. “The zone was effective for us defensively.”
Although the focus was on the frontcourt, point guard Erving Walker became Florida’s all-time assist leader in the win. His seven assists brought his career total to 505, passing Ronnie Montgomery’s mark of 503, which had stood since 1988.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for him,” Donovan said. “For a guy 5-foot-8, he’s had a heck of a career.”
Walker and Kenny Boynton struggled to find their offense in the game, hitting a combined 3 of 14 shots, including 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.
It was also a poor offensive night for Florida’s bench, which failed to register a point as Will Yeguete and Mike Rosario sat out with injuries.
Thankfully for the Gators, Young and the rest of the frontcourt were there to pick up the slack and put an end to Florida’s two-game slide.
“I was proud of our guys’ resiliency,” Donovan said. “I think the adversity that we went through, I’m really hoping that it can make us better.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Florida center Patric Young led all scorers with 19 points in UF’s 61-52 win against Alabama on Tuesday. He said his ankle injury is still not 100 percent.
