Cincinnati Bearcats vs Florida Gators Match Player Stats On Dec 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 9, 2017

NEWARK, N.J. -- No. 5 Florida halted its three-game losing streak with a 66-60 win over No. 17 Cincinnati in the Never Forget Tribute Classic on Saturday at the Prudential Center.

Chris Chiozza scored the last six points for the Gators (6-3), including a floater that gave them a 62-60 edge with 1:10 to play.

Egor Koulechov led Florida with 21 points and seven rebounds, Jalen Hudson added 17 points and Chiozza had 15.

Cane Broome topped the Bearcats (7-2) with 15 points and Jacob Evans had 13.

The Gators' previous losing skid included a surprising 65-59 home setback to Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday. Two days earlier, Florida was upset 83-66 by Florida State. The slide began with an 87-84 loss to No. 1 Duke on Nov. 26, when Florida squandered a 17-point lead in the second half.

During that span, Florida shot just 36.6 percent from the field (45 of 123) and 18.2 percent from 3-point range (8 of 44), with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 14 to 25.

Against Cincinnati, the Gators shot 42.6 percent, 40 percent from 3-point range and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 9 to 15.

Gary Clark sank a free throw for the Bearcats to tie it at 60-60. It was the fourth tie in under a five-minute span.

Broome's two free throws allowed the Bearcats to reclaim the lead at 59-58 with 2:09 remaining before Kevarrius Hayes sank two free throws with 1:54 left.

After the Bearcats tied it at 55, Hudson drilled a 3-pointer with 3:50 to go.

Cincinnati went 2:45 without scoring and the Gators took advantage with a 6-0 run to move ahead 55-53 on a basket from freshman Deaundrae Ballard with 5:08 to go.

Evans ended a 2:48 drought with a layup to give the Bearcats a 51-49 lead with 8:45 to play and a Jarron Cumberland layup extended the lead to 53-49.

The Bearcats knotted it at 40 with a 7-2 run that ended with a layup from Evans at the 14:43 mark of the second half.

A 3-pointer from Broome tied it for the Bearcats at 24 with 4:26 left in the half, but a 10-4 burst gave the Gators a 34-28 halftime advantage. Chiozza popped in five points in the run.

The Bearcats erased a 24-18 Florida lead by scoring six consecutive points to tie it.

NOTES: Florida's four 100-point games this season are tied for third-most in a season in school history. The Gators had five such games twice previously (2000-01, 2001-02) and also had two prior seasons with four (1986-87, 2003-04). ... The Bearcats rank among the nation's top 25 in scoring margin, rebound margin, field-goal percentage defense, total rebounds per game, scoring defense, total blocks, blocked shots per game and assists per game. ... Florida G Chris Chiozza leads the SEC in assists and G Egor Koulechov is tops in the league in free-throw percentage.