No bizarre buzzer-beaters or cunning second-half comebacks maddened the nightcap action at American Airlines Arena on Thursday in Dallas.
Sixth-seeded Florida (21-12) ousted 11th-seeded St. Bonaventure (26-8) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Behind forward Egor Koulechov’s 20 points and six rebounds, the Gators ran away with a second-half lead and secured a 77-62 victory.
Koulechov and guard Jalen Hudson – who combined to shoot 20 percent from the field in last week’s 80-72 loss to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament – piloted Florida’s scoring effort while St. Bonaventure’s stars broke down. UF contained the Bonnies’ dangerous backcourt duo of Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley to a combined 5-of-19 shooting on the night.
The Gators missed their first three attempts from the three-point line before Koulechov connected from the baseline with 15:45 left in the opening half. On the ensuing possession, Koulechov threw up an off-balance three and missed, contributing to Florida’s 3-of-10 start from the field.
In UF’s good fortune, the Bonnies were off the mark on their first seven three-point attempts. A pair of threes from Florida forward Keith Stone helped UF build a 20-9 advantage with fewer than 11 minutes remaining before halftime.
But as quickly as the Gators found their rhythm, they lost it.
St. Bonaventure went on a 13-1 run during which Florida missed 13 straight shots. With just over three minutes remaining in the frame, St. Bonaventure led 22-21.
Although they worked back to a 27-22 lead by the buzzer, the Gators shot below 30 percent from the field in the opening period.
Adams — St. Bonaventure’s leading scorer — struggled to find his shot. He didn’t convert a field goal until the 8:27 mark in the second half. As a team, the Bonnies shot just 26.1 percent in an opening half so ugly, coach Mark Schmidt described it as a “rock fight” in an on-court interview during the TV broadcast.
Florida began the latter half of action with three unanswered buckets: a fadeaway three from guard KeVaughn Allen and layups from both Koulechov and guard Chris Chiozza. Suddenly, the Gators found themselves riding a 12-point lead just two minutes into the half.
While St. Bonaventure’s poor performance from the field continued, trips to the charity stripe and sub-par shooting from Florida kept the Bonnies in the game until late. They shot 34 free throws, compared to the Gators’ 18.
With fewer than 10 minutes to play, Hudson finally found the bottom of the net from downtown after six missed three-point attempts. His shot was followed by two more assists from Chiozza, putting Florida up 54-35 with 8:55 remaining.
Hudson, seemingly sparked by his first connection from deep, helped the Gators bury the Bonnies late. A two-handed put-back slam was followed by another three-pointer. Fourteen of his 16 points came in the second half.
A 23-point deficit with just under seven minutes to play proved too daunting a task for the Bonnies. The remainder of the game carried out in front of a mostly empty arena.
UF will play again on Saturday at 8:40 p.m. against third-seeded Texas Tech. The Red Raiders earned a spot in the second round with their 70-60 defeat of Stephen F. Austin on Thursday.
Follow Benjamin Brandt on Twitter @bhb1227 and contact him at bbrandt@alligator.org.
Florida guard Egor Koulechov scored 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting in Thursday night's 77-62 win over St. Bonaventure.
