Keyontae Johnson had the look.
But instead of shooting what could have been a game-tying three, he turned to pass the ball to another teammate — a ball that was quickly tipped and intercepted by a UConn defender to seal the game.
The UF men’s basketball team was unable to come out of Storrs, Connecticut, with a victory, dropping a tightly contested game to UConn, 62-59, on Sunday. Florida moves to 2-2 on the year after the loss.
The change of scenery couldn’t fix UF’s shooting woes.
The Gators ended the half shooting 30.8 percent from the field and just nine percent from the three-point line. Florida also gave up 10 turnovers in the first half to UConn’s eight.
UF saw a positive in the form of graduate transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr., however, as he netted 10 points and five rebounds. Blackshear Jr. was also 4 for 5 from the field.
Despite UConn’s poor shot percentage of 33 percent—as well as being outrebounded—the Huskies were able to take advantage of UF’s turnovers to take a 25-20 lead heading into the second half.
The Gators second half performance was much better, but it wasn't enough.
UF improved its field goal percentage to 48.3 percent and drastically improved its three-point percentage to 44.4 percent.
However, Florida was outrebounded 20-18 in the second half and also turned the ball over three times to UConn’s one. Kerry Blackshear Jr. fouled out with around four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, leaving the Gators without the player who was their leading scorer by the end of the game with 15 points.
The Huskies still had troubles as well. UConn shot 37.5 percent from the field and 20 percent from three.
Florida ended the game shooting 40 percent from the field and 25 percent from three, as well as turning over the ball 13 times. The Gators did shoot well from the foul line, going 10 for 13, but committed 14 fouls over the course of the game that gave UConn 16 points off of free throws.
Follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells. Contact him at rwells@alligator.org
Tre Mann
