National Basketball Association
Tennessee 78, Florida 67
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 12, 2019
Where: Exactech Arena, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Keith Kimble, # K.B. Burdett, # Pat Adams
Attendance:
10923
By Field Level Media
After fouling out with just four points Tuesday night against Missouri, junior forward Grant Williams bounced back with 20 points Saturday night as No. 3 Tennessee pulled away late for a 78-67 win over the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
Junior guard Jordan Bowden added 17 points off the bench for the Volunteers (14-1, 3-0 SEC), who extended their win streak to 10 games.
Senior guard Admiral Schofield had 14 points, including a big 3-pointer with 45 seconds left that extended Tennessee's lead to 72-67. Tennessee then scored six straight points to finish off the Gators.
Senior guard KeVaughn Allen led the Gators (9-6, 1-2 SEC) with 18 points, and freshman guard Noah Locke added 16 points.
Florida led by as many as six points early in the second half and went up 56-53 on an Allen 3-pointer with 8:19 left.
Locke hit a 3-pointer to put the Gators up 63-60 with 5:45 left, but Bowden answered with a 3-pointer and a steal and breakaway dunk, putting Tennessee ahead to stay at 65-63.
The Gators were able to feed off the crowd fueled from a pregame speech from football coach Dan Mullen in building a 38-35 halftime lead. Florida shot 41.4 percent from the field in the first half, and 40.9 percent (9-22) from 3-point range.
A layup by Schofield put Tennessee up 17-11, but the Gators answered with a 12-0 run.
Allen cut Tennessee's lead to 17-15 with a four-point play, then gave Florida a 20-17 lead with a 3-pointer from the corner. Locke hit another trey to extend the lead to 23-17.
Florida led 36-29 on a layup by sophomore swingman Deaundrae Ballard before the Volunteers closed the half on a 6-2 run.
Junior guard Lamonte Turner hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 36-32. After a pair of Florida free throws, Turner hit another 3-pointer to cut Florida's lead to 38-35 at halftime.
Turner added 12 points off the bench for the Volunteers, who shot 52.7 percent from the floor for the game, while the Gators finished at 35.2 percent.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Tennessee |
|
Florida |
Grant Williams 20 |
Scoring |
KeVaughn Allen 18 |
Jordan Bone 5 |
Assists |
Andrew Nembhard 5 |
Grant Williams 9 |
Rebounds |
Kevarrius Hayes 7 |
Jordan Bowden 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Dontay Bassett 4 |
Jordan Bowden 2 |
Steals |
KeVaughn Allen 1 |
Grant Williams 2 |
Blocks |
Dontay Bassett 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Tennessee
|
78 |
52.7 |
9-23 |
11-14 |
15 |
32 |
3 |
7 |
13 |
Florida
|
67 |
35.2 |
12-32 |
17-21 |
11 |
23 |
1 |
4 |
12 |