With 15 seconds remaining in Florida’s battle with St. Bonaventure, UF guard Chris Chiozza stole the ball from Bonnies guard Matt Mobley.
Chiozza flipped the ball over his head down the court to a streaking Devin Robinson, who gathered the pass, lept into the air and delivered a ferocious slam dunk, ending the Bonnies’ comeback bid.
The Gators (3-0) survived St. Bonaventure (1-1) on Thursday night in Lakeland, defeating the Bonnies 73-66 in an uncomfortably close contest for Florida.
“We struggled for the most part offensively,” said UF coach Mike White, whose team committed 17 turnovers and shot 41.1-percent from the field. “(St. Bonaventure) got their hands on so many basketballs.”
The first half began slowly for the Gators when Robinson had the ball stolen from him by guard Jaylen Adams three seconds into the game.
Robinson made up for it, though, sparking an explosive run for Florida after the first timeout with 15 minutes left in the half.
The 6-foot-8 forward drilled a three immediately out of the timeout and converted an and-one opportunity moments later after he was fouled on a putback layup.
But St. Bonaventure didn’t back down.
With seven minutes left in the half, Adams, standing near mid court, flung the ball toward the basket as the shot clock expired and buried the shot to cut into Florida’s lead. Two free throws by Adams eventually shrunk the Gators’ lead to just a single point.
However, guard Kevaughn Allen, who struggled with his shot early on, found forward Justin Leon in the corner for a big three with three seconds left to put Florida up 38-32.
In the second half, Barry drilled three-straight threes to give UF a 15-point lead with 11 minutes left.
Then Mobley happened.
The 6-foot-3 junior, who hit six threes and scored a game-high 28 points, led the Bonnies on a seven-minute, 15-2 stretch. And finally, with the Gators leading 66-63 with under two minutes remaining, Mobley intercepted an errant pass from guard Kasey Hill, flew down the court and converted an and-one layup to tie the game.
“Matt Mobley was absolutely incredible,” White said. “We knew it was going to be difficult for him not to get 20 … but (he) was dynamite.”
It was all for nothing, however.
With 58 seconds left in the game, Barry, who scored 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, rocketed into the air to rip down a rebound and was fouled, sending the graduate transfer to the line for his first pressure free throws of the season.
He drilled both to give Florida a two-point lead, and the Gators eked out the win.
“I know I’m a great free-throw shooter, and my teammates have confidence in me,” Barry said. “I just try to knock them down.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
Florida forward Devin Robinson fights for a shot against Florida Gulf Coast forward Antravious Simmons during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday Nov. 11, 2016, in Jacksonville, Fla. (Bob Mack/The Florida Times-Union via AP)
