SUNRISE – Four days after a big win against Memphis at Madison Square Garden, Florida made sure it wouldn’t follow up with a letdown against Fresno State.
But the Gators’ victory Saturday afternoon was far from pretty.
Both teams got off to an ugly start offensively – shooting a combined 15 of 54 in the first half. But No. 16 Florida (9-2) eventually found its groove, riding a 16-point performance from Casey Prather to cruise past Fresno State 66-49 at the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in the BB&T Center.
“We just knew we had to come out in the second half strong, do our jobs,” Prather said. “We did a great job playing good defense … doing all the little things that go into winning games.”
Prather, who went 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds, was named MVP of the second game of the afternoon. Point guard Scottie Wilbekin added 11 points and six boards, while forward Will Yeguete posted a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds.
“I think the most underrated guy tonight was Will Yeguete. He was awesome,” Donovan said. “He was active defensively. Loose balls, made a lot of really great plays.”
After missing Friday’s practice with pain in both of his knees, center Patric Young came off the bench and finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Florida got off to a rough start offensively, starting the game with a 1-for-10 shooting clip. By halftime, the team had made only nine of its 31 field-goal attempts and sunk only 1 of 13 attempts from downtown. Despite its shooting slump, Florida still led 23-19 after the game’s first 20 minutes.
But to kick off the second half, the Gators attacked the rim more often, and the strategy worked.
Out of halftime, the Gators went on a 15-4 run and eventually jumped to a 15-point lead fewer than eight minutes into the second half. UF eventually led by as many as 26.
“In this game, [Donovan] thought it would be a good game for us to drive into the lane and make the extra pass and look inside to Pat and keep being aggressive, not forcing threes,” Yeguete said. “I think we did a good job of doing that.”
Florida held Fresno State (6-6), a strong three-point shooting team, in check all game. The Bulldogs went 32 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from behind the arc.
“This was probably our best game defensively from start to finish,” Donovan said.
The Gators now have eight days off and can enjoy the holidays until facing Savannah State on Dec. 29 in the O’Connell Center.
Follow Landon Watnick on Twitter @LandonWatnick.
Casey Prather (24) scores against Fresno State's Tanner Giddings (5) and Alex Davis (10) during No. 16 Florida's 66-49 win at the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on Dec. 21 in Sunrise.
