With his team in the midst of a second-half rally, Gonzaga forward Johnathan Williams received a no-look pass from teammate Nigel Williams-Goss. The 6-foot-9 Williams gathered the pass, crushed the rim with a left-handed jam and let out a thunderous roar as he galloped back down the court.
And the Gators could do nothing about it.
Williams, who made the game-tying dunk halfway through the second half, decimated Florida’s defense for 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting on Friday night.
Florida (5-1) struggled to score throughout much of its 77-72 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga (5-0) in the third round of the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando. After leading 37-32 at the half, the Gators collapsed due in part to 17 missed threes and 36.9 percent shooting from the field.
“Just not quite good enough,” UF coach Mike White said. “It was a high-level game. Two programs that were really battling left it all out on the court. … I was very proud of our effort.
“We were all over the court.”
Junior Devin Robinson was one of the few of Florida’s players who managed to score efficiently. The 6-foot-8 forward scored a career-high 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen went 1-of-7 from three but managed to chip in 15 points, and redshirt junior John Egbunu responded well to the Bulldogs’ elite size. The 6-foot-11 center finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
But despite forcing 11 turnovers and a string of missed jumpers in the first half, the Gators did little to stop what came in the second half.
Down by five with just over 11 minutes remaining, Gonzaga went on a 13-2 run, including 10-straight when Florida went more than four minutes without a bucket.
For the game, the Bulldogs shot 51.7 percent from the field and knocked down seven of their 16 threes.
“I think they hit some timely shots, man,” White said. “They deserved to win. They hit all the big shots.”
The lone bright spot for Florida was free-throw shooting. The Gators, who have made a big jump in productivity at the line to start the season, connected on 22 of their 24 trips to the charity stripe, including 6-for-6 outings from Robinson and guards Canyon Barry and Kasey Hill.
The loss sends Florida to a consolation match against a familiar opponent.
After two loses in two years, Florida will have a chance to right the ship against Miami. The Gators will face the Hurricanes on Sunday at 4:30 on ESPN2.
“They’re a program that’s had a lot of success as of late,” White said of Miami. “We’ve got an opportunity again to improve.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report
Florida forward Devin Robinson (1) goes up for a shot in front of Gonzaga forward Zach Collins (32) and forward Killian Tillie (33) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. Gonzaga won 77-72.
