SUNRISE, Fla. — Try as they did, the Florida Gators couldn't shake the South Florida Bulls Saturday at FLA Live Arena. A 16-point second-half lead had been reduced to just three with nearly nine minutes to go, but thanks to some stiffening of the UF defense the margin had snuck back out to nine with just over five minutes remaining. Still either team's game, though.
The Gators, out of a timeout, had a baseline out-of-bounds situation under their basket, with the ball in the hands of guard Myreon Jones. His in-bound pass over the USF defense and toward the top of the key was intercepted by Bulls guard Jamir Chaplin, who sped off toward the opposite end with a green-and-gold opportunity to make it a one-point game. But as Chaplin went airborne for his layup, UF guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr., giving chase, reached and swatted the ball away and into the hands of teammate Tyree Appleby.
The play initiated an open-floor transition opportunity for the Gators, with Jones receiving a pass up the left side and going in for a contested layup. He missed it the shot, but there was 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton trailing the play and flushing the ball through the goal for a double-digit lead.
"A mistake turned into a hustle play," UF coach Mike White said. "That's a four-point swing, right there."
Courtesy of the Florida defense.
"That's our identity," Castleton said.
Go ahead and get sick of hearing it, but as long as UF's collective shooting eye remains blurry — as it was again for this one — defense will have to carry this team. Rebounding, also. The Gators got decent doses of both in beating the Bulls 66-55 in the Orange Bowl Classic. They shot just 39 percent from the floor, 30.8 from 3 and donated 17 turnovers to the opponent's cause, but the across-the-board work on defense, combined with teamwork on the glass, plus a double-double from Castleton (12 points, 11 rebounds) and near dub-dub from forward Anthony Duruji (11 points, 9 rebounds) were enough to help the Gators (8-3) to a second win over the last five games.
"We did a good job taking care of the ball, but didn't do a good enough job on the glass," Bulls coach Brian Gregory said.
USF, which got a game-high 16 points from freshman guard Caleb Murphy, had five fewer turnovers than UF and shot 42.1 percent, including 44 in the second half, but UF made up for its shortcomings through overall effort and work on the glass. The same could not be said for numerous stretches in recent losses to Oklahoma, Texas Southern and Maryland.
"When we're solid on defense and don't turn the ball over that gives us a chance to win any game," Duruji said. "Defense is our identity."
There it is again.
Shooting, on the other hand, definitely is not their identity. The Gators, who came in hitting 42 for the season and a measly 25.5 from long range the last four games, began the game by missing eight of their first nine shots and trailed 10-3 at the first timeout. They came alive out of the stoppage, though, with a run of seven straight points to tie the score. At the point the Bulls led 16-13 with six minutes to go in the half the Gators had 10 turnovers, but got into a nice rhythm at both ends and took off on a 17-2 run to end the period, including the last 10 points.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Duruji had hit a 3-pointer and scored on an old-fashion three-play. When Brandon McKissic dropped a 3 at the 16:40 mark the Gators' lead was 40-24.
Then it started slowly shrinking.
"We settled in a little mid-first half and I thought we were really good early second half, extending the lead," said White, whose team's 66 points were the most scored against the defense-minded Bulls this season. "[South Florida] continued to fight and made it interesting; more so than we needed, if we want to continue to progress."
That play started an 8-1 UF run that ended when Castleton, named the game's MVP, threw down his two-handed stuff that followed Fleming's chase-down blocked shot.
"Huge play of the game," White said.
Yes. Made by the defense. That's the Gators' identity, in case you hadn't heard.
And until they figure out how to hit some shots (and even after, preferably), it'll need to be.
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