Kenny Boynton knew Brad Beal’s shooting woes wouldn’t last long.
After watching Beal, a freshman guard, slip deeper into a four-game, 14-of-47 shooting funk Saturday at Tennessee, Boynton said he didn’t know exactly when or where, but an offensive breakthrough would soon happen for his teammate.
As it turned out, Boynton needed just one game for his prediction to pan out.
Along with 10 rebounds, Beal scored 17 points and went 4 of 8 from the field, including 4 for 6 on 3-pointers, to lead No. 13 Florida past Georgia 70-48 on Tuesday night.
“It was great; I’m happy for him,” said Boynton, a junior guard. “I said last game there was going to be a [time] when he came out and played good. And I think he needed a game like this, definitely in the SEC, this gives him a lot of confidence.”
Though coach Billy Donovan did not want to characterize Beal’s play before Tuesday as a slump, he said the freshman starter was struggling recently with his comfort level within the Gators’ offense.
Beal turned the ball over 14 times in his previous four games, including five against Tennessee. Donovan credited the rise in giveaways to Beal’s eagerness to defer to his teammates.
“I really felt like the last couple days in practice he was starting to figure some things out, offensively,” Donovan said. “When he should be looking to shoot, when he should be looking to pass. And I think that’s been something that’s bogged him down a little bit, because he’s so unselfish.”
While reaching double figures for the first time in two games certainly helped Beal’s confidence, his decision-making in his second SEC game was also drastically improved.
Beal had just one turnover against the Bulldogs, despite doing most of his damage in the second half on aggressive drives to the basket. He went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line on three fouls once he got inside the paint.
“Coach Donovan helped me realize, as well as Kenny and the rest of the players — they told me just relax,” Beal said. “They said it’s going to come. Kenny told me he went through the same thing his freshman year.”
In the first half, Beal kept Florida’s outside shooting afloat as he hit three straight 3-pointers in the final 5:40 of the first half to help stretch UF’s lead to 20 points. Four other Gators, including Boynton, who scored 17 points, would go a combined 3 of 15 from three.
Beal’s re-emergence from three comes after hitting only two treys in his last four outings.
“Everybody has bad games and stuff like that, but I don’t really get too involved in getting down on myself,” Beal said. “My teammates always have faith in me and my coaches as well. And I really just try to focus and concentrate on the team concepts.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Florida freshman guard Brad Beal scored 17 points on a 4-of-6 shooting performance from three in Tuesday’s win against UGA.
