National Basketball Association
Florida 81, Mississippi St. 78
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Tony Henderson, # Antonio Petty, # Doug Sirmons
Attendance:
8250
By The Sports Xchange
Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith had 20 points and 13 rebounds to help Florida hold on for a dramatic 81-78 victory over visiting Mississippi State on Tuesday at the Stephen O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen scored 19 points for the Gators (12-6, 4-2 Southeastern Conference). Sophomore center John Egbunu had 16 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Devin Robinson added 11 points.
Junior guard I.J. Ready scored 20 points for the Bulldogs (7-10, 0-5). Senior guard Craig Sword had 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Florida led 32-24 with a little more than five minutes to play in the opening period. Mississippi State closed the half with an 18-5 run and took a 42-37 lead when senior guard Fred Thomas made a 3-pointer one second prior to intermission.
The Bulldogs went up 56-45 early in the second half. The Gators responded with a 13-2 run to tie the game on two free throws by Allen and a subsequent 11-0 run gave Florida a 69-61 lead.
Mississippi State rallied to go ahead 76-75 on a layup by Ready, but the Gators made six free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Top Game Performances
| Mississippi St. |
|
Florida |
|
I.J. Ready 20 |
Scoring |
Dorian Finney-Smith 20 |
|
Craig Sword 4 |
Assists |
Chris Chiozza 5 |
|
Craig Sword 6 |
Rebounds |
Dorian Finney-Smith 13 |
|
I.J. Ready 4 |
Free Throws Made |
John Egbunu 8 |
|
Craig Sword 3 |
Steals |
KeVaughn Allen 2 |
|
Gavin Ware 3 |
Blocks |
John Egbunu 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Mississippi St.
|
78 |
44.8 |
6-21 |
12-17 |
14 |
31 |
4 |
11 |
8 |
| Florida
|
81 |
44.8 |
9-21 |
20-33 |
13 |
44 |
2 |
4 |
15 |
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