For Florida, Thursday night’s game was supposed to produce a get back-on-track type of performance at the O’Connell Center.
UF’s opponent, however, thought differently.
The Towson Tigers hung with the 15th-ranked team in the country for the first half of play, outshooting and outrebounding the Gators into a 30-30 gridlock at half.
It stayed close for the remainder of the game until Florida ended the contest on a 6-0 run behind some clutch free throws from sophomore Andrew Nembhard and freshman Scottie Lewis to help edge Towson 66-60 at the O’Connell Center.
Florida’s shooting woes that plagued them against the Seminoles during Sunday’s loss carried over into Thursday, as the team shot just 42 percent from the field (23 of 55) for the game. Despite the tough night offensively, UF coach Mike White credited Towson for being a big reason behind it.
“Towson’s really good,” he said. “They guard fantastic, their bigs defend well, move well, rebound well. They really provide that physicality…We were fortunate. They played well enough to come in here and steal one.”
So far this season, the three-point line has been Florida’s nemesis. A team that started out incredibly hot from three in the preseason is now just 14 for 59 from three-point land through the first three regular season games, including a 7-of -22 output against the Tigers.
With an important road game against UConn this weekend and the Charleston Classic looming next week, the Gators will need for their shots to fall at a higher clip.
“We’re just struggling to convert from three right now, but I thought we had some decent looks,” White said. “Tre Mann and Noah Locke are two of the best shooters I’ve ever coached, and they’ll get it going.”
Early on Thursday night, both teams came out with impressive defensive energy. Towson (2-2) gave the Gators (2-1) fits, swarming Florida inside and out and causing missed shots both in the paint and on the perimeter.
In the first half, UF shot under 40 percent and was outrebounded 17-15.
To open the second, Florida looked poised to take over the game. A Lewis (15 points, three rebounds) trey combined with a driving layup and free throw from Mann (six points, one assist) had UF up four with some evident momentum.
The Gators couldn’t shake the Tigers though, and the game — which featured 19 lead changes — went back and forth until Towson guard Juwan Gray sunk a three to tie the game at 60-60 with 2:14 remaining.
Florida big man Kerry Blackshear Jr. broke that tie just over a minute later after a much-needed layup for his team.
Blackshear Jr. earned his third-straight double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds against Towson.
“We understand that every game is going to be a challenge, and we got to be able to fight through those games,” Blackshear Jr. said. “I think this (game) was a big learning curve for us.”
Follow Evan Lepak on Twitter @evanmplepak. Contact him at elepak@alligator.org
