With 2:04 left to play against No. 5 North Carolina, Florida shooting guard Michael Frazier II hit a three-pointer to cut No. 18 UF’s deficit to seven points.
That’s as close as the Gators were able to get to the Tar Heels.
After falling behind by double-digits early, Florida’s second-half push failed to put it over the top as the Gators (3-3) fell 75-64 to the Tar Heels (5-1) to finish in sixth place at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas.
UNC jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first six minutes of play as Florida missed its first 10 shots from the field.
Sophomore point guard Kasey Hill — who led the Gators with a career-high 20 points on Friday — put Florida on the scoreboard with a jumper at the 13:15 mark of the first half.
But outside of Hill and Frazier, UF struggled to put points on the board in the first 20 minutes. The Gators shot 29-percent from the field — and made just one of 15 attempts from beyond the arc — in the first half as UNC took a 39-23 lead into intermission.
It marked the first time that the Gators shot below 30 percent in the first half of a game since last season’s 66-49 win against Fresno State on Dec. 21.
UF came out on a 14-6 run in the opening 6:17 of the second half to cut UNC’s lead to 45-37 But the Tar Heels brought their lead back to double digits at the 11:09 mark of the second half on a tip in from sophomore forward Kennedy Meeks, who recorded his third double-double of the season after recording 18 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
Florida played neck-in-neck with UNC down the line, cutting the Tar Heel’s lead to as little as 7 points.
But North Carolina finished the game with an 8-4 run in the final 2:04 to ice the game.
The Gators finished their time in the Bahamas by going 1-2 and failing to shoot above 36 percent in any of its three contests.
Florida returns to action on Dec. 5 in a road contest against No. 11 Kansas.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Kasey Hill attempts a jump shot during Florida's overtime win against Louisiana-Monroe. Hill scored a career-high 20 points in UF's 75-64 loss to UNC in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Friday on Paradise Island, Bahamas.
