Florida shouldn’t have had any trouble with Vermont, yet the Catamounts repeatedly hit shots to stay in the game.
But with a narrow 5-point lead, the Gators locked down on defense in the second half and closed out Vermont 86-62 on Wednesday in the O’Connell Center.
Redshirt senior Dorian Finney-Smith was dominant from wire-to-wire, scoring 20 points on a combination of three-point shooting and converted free throws. His scoring effort was the most points scored by a Gator this season.
“I thought we were tentative offensively,” coach Mike White said. “I was pleased with our guys being conscience to a fault. I didn’t think we were tentative defensively.”
Focusing on defense was more than enough for the Gators (4-1) to eventually create the needed separation. Florida forced Vermont (2-3) into 17 turnovers while committing just eight on the offensive end. Several steals had the Gators sprinting down the court in the other direction as the team scored 21 points off of turnovers.
Continuing his display of elevated play this season, sophomore forward Devin Robinson came off the bench early and made an immediate impact while finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds. His length created difficult situations for the Catamounts under the basket and Robinson used his size to create space while proceeding to knock down open jumpers.
“Devin was good. He only had two offensive rebounds but it took an effort from them to keep him off the glass,” White said. “He took really good shots, I thought he was really efficient.”
In all, four Gators – Kasey Hill had 14 and John Egbunu had 13 – finished with double-digits in scoring as UF gradually pulled away in the second half.
The Gators have a quick turnaround with a game on Friday against Florida Gulf Coast. The team will practice on Thanksgiving before coming back to the O’Connell Center at 6:30 p.m. to face the Eagles. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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Dorian Finney-Smith dribbles the ball during Florida's 79-34 win against Jacksonville on Dec. 22, 2014.
