UALR was unable to
get untracked offensively and eventually succumbed to Florida’s size and
pressure on Saturday. The result was an 86-56 loss to Florida in a game that
was much closer than that for the first 28 minutes.
Senior forward Will Neighbour came off the bench to score 21
points and added 8 rebounds while sophomore James white had 16 points and 9
rebounds to lead the Trojans. They
combined to make 15 of UALR’s 22 field goals as the Trojans shot 36.1 percent.
UALR was unable to get anything going outside the
three-point line (2 of 11) or at the free throw line (10 of 12). And once
Florida started turning UALR over and making treys, the Gators pulled away.
Florida outscored UALR 40-15 in the game’s final 12 minutes.
“We got beat on the 50-50 plays in the second half, got beat
on loose balls and got beat to the glass,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said.
There were some positives. Neighbour, who missed practices
this week with a shoulder injury and didn’t start on Saturday, was an offensive
force early. And the Trojans were only outrebounded 40-36 for the game.
But UALR’s 18 turnovers were killers. Florida outscored UALR
25-2 in points off turnovers. The Gators
went more than nine minutes to start the game without making a basket in their
offensive set. But they still held the lead by converting fast-break points
after Trojan turnovers.
UALR had its moments, taking a 12-11 lead with 10:08 left in
the first half on a layup by junior DeVonte Smith. Then after getting a
defensive stop, sophomore Kemy Osse turned the ball over and Florida converted
two free throws to take the lead back.
UALR re-took the lead with 18 seconds left in the first half
when Neighbour hit a three-pointer from the corner. But UALR couldn’t get a
stop before halftime as Florida’s Kasey Hill hit a jumper for a 27-27 tie at
half.
Florida couldn’t pull away early in the second half. Two
free throws by Neighbour cut the Gators lead back to 46-41 with 12:06 left. But
the Gators got hot and pulled away for an easy victory.
"We felt like, coming out at the second half, we had to limit our turnovers," Shields said. "You can't turn it over the way we turned it over in the second half."
"We felt like, coming out at the second half, we had to limit our turnovers," Shields said. "You can't turn it over the way we turned it over in the second half."
