Field Level Media
Dec 17, 2019
Keyontae Johnson scored nine of his 19 points to help Florida build a 15-point halftime lead en route to an 83-51 rout of Providence on Tuesday night as part of the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at Barclays Center in New York.
Tre Mann scored 13 points, Noah Locke had 11 and Ques Glover added 10 for the Gators (7-3), who scored 19 of the final 23 points.
The Gators shot 50.9 percent (29 of 57) overall, including 44.4 percent (8 of 18) from 3-point rage.
Alpha Diallo had 20 points and 12 rebounds while Nate Watson added 18 points and eight boards for the Friars (6-6), who shot just 25.9 percent (15 of 58) overall and a frigid 1 of 18 from behind the arc.
Providence failed to get within 17 points during the final 17:49.
Among the few Providence highlights were more offensive rebounds (20-10) and second-chance points (19-13) than Florida.
Both teams struggled from the foul line, where Florida was 17 of 24 (70.8 percent) and Providence 20 of 34 (58.8 percent).
Johnson had six of his 10 rebounds as Florida took a 37-22 halftime lead. Diallo scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds before the break.
In the first 20 minutes, the Friars shot just 17.9 percent (5 of 28) -- missing all nine 3-point tries -- and 57.1 percent (12 of 21) from the free-throw line.
The Gators used a 15-2 spurt to build a 27-12 advantage with 7:31 left before halftime. Glover hit two 3-pointers and Andrew Nembhard (nine points, seven assists) sank one trey to spark the run.
--Field Level Media