Florida’s offense hit a new low on Saturday night.
In their worst shooting performance of the season, the Gators fell to Alabama 61-55 in the O’Connell Center. It was Florida’s second loss at home this year and the Crimson Tide’s first win in Gainesville since 1995.
The Gators (16-9, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) made just three of their 21 three-point field goals while shooting 28.6 percent from the field and converting on just 16-of-27 free throws.
Alabama’s numbers weren’t overwhelming either. It shot 42 percent from the field and 41.7 from beyond the arc, but played well enough to take down a struggling Florida team.
“We just couldn’t make shots,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “They denied me shots the whole game and we just kept missing shots. They didn’t let me touch the ball at all.”
Florida made just four field goals in the final 9:15 of the game and just two field goals in the final 6:10. John Egbunu finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 2-of-9 from the field and 6-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Finney-Smith and KeVaughn Allen each had 12 points for the Gators and Justin Leon added 10 off the bench. Florida’s guards — Allen, Chris Chiozza, Kasey Hill and Brandone Francis-Ramirez — shot a combined 9-of-30 and 1-of-12 from three.
After the game, Florida coach Mike White said his team’s inability to score was ultimately the deciding factor. The Gators had 23 offensive rebounds and just 11 second-chance points.
“23 offensive rebounds. Wow. 23 offensive rebounds and you score 55 points,” White said. I’m not sure I’ve seen a box score like that.”
White credited the Crimson Tide’s strong defense for much of the Gators’ offensive woes, but also knew that Florida left a lot of points at the rim and at the free-throw line.
“They make you shoot mid-range jump shots, tough two’s. And they’ve been in a really good defensive rhythm lately,” White said of Alabama. “They’re a very big team led by Jimmie Taylor who, again, with the five blocks and a bunch of altered (shots), he was terrific. He was the most dominant player on the floor today.”
Taylor, Alabama’s 6-foot-10 center, blocked five shots and scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. His imposing force kept Florida at bay on offense and overwhelmed the Gators on defense, especially when Egbunu got into late foul trouble.
When the Tide’s leading scorer Retin Obasohan fouled out with 5:35 left in the game and Alabama leading 48-45, it seemed like Florida’s chance to strike, but the Gators couldn’t make it happen.
Obasohan had a game-high 15 points for the Tide and a team-high seven rebounds. Justin Coleman and Shannon Hale each added 10 points off the bench and shot a combined 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Four of Florida’s final six regular season games come on the road. The Gators are 2-6 in true road games this year and face Georgia in Athens on Tuesday night.
“It’s very frustrating, but we know that it happens to even the greatest so it’s just something that we’ve got to just let go,” Leon said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we’ve just got to let it go and bounce back for the next game.”
Contact Alex Maminakis at amaminakis@alligator.org on follow him on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Dorian Finney-Smith goes for a layup during Florida's win against Arkansas on Jan. 30, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
