National Basketball Association
Florida 68, William & Mary 45
When: 6:00 PM ET, Friday, November 14, 2014
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Lee Cassell, # Nathan Quick, # Jeff Smith
Attendance:
10861
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 7 Florida 68, William & Mary 45: Dorian Finney-Smith scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Gators cruised past the visiting Tribe in their season opener.
Michael Frazier II went 5-of-12 with a pair of 3-pointers for 12 points and added five rebounds for Florida (1-0), which won its 33rd consecutive game at home. Michigan graduate transfer Jon Horford chipped in 11 points and pulled down five boards.
Omar Prewitt had 15 points and Marcus Thornton overcame a poor first half to score 10 for William & Mary (0-1). The Tribe turned the ball over 12 times and went 2-of-22 from three-point range.
Frazier connected on 6-of-9 for 14 points and the Gators rained down five 3s in a dominant first half that left William & Mary staring at a 42-18 deficit at intermission. The Tribe struggled on 7-of-27 shooting from the floor and 1-of-13 from long distance as Florida closed out the final nine minutes on a 21-4 run.
Finney-Smith, who had just four points in the first half, helped grow Florida's lead to 57-30 with 11 points to start the second frame, and Chris Chiozza supplied a spark off the bench with three steals, three assists and four points down the stretch. With a comfortable 64-40 cushion inside of two minutes left to play, the Gators went to their bench and found playing time for their younger members, including one-armed freshman walk-on Zach Hodskins.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Highly touted F Chris Walker did not play for the Gators as he served the first of a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules. ... Florida is now 19-0 in season openers under Billy Donovan. ... Thornton, who averaged 18.7 points last season as the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, had only four points at halftime.
Top Game Performances
| William & Mary |
|
Florida |
|
Omar Prewitt 15 |
Scoring |
Dorian Finney-Smith 15 |
|
Marcus Thornton 2 |
Assists |
Chris Chiozza 3 |
|
Oliver Tot 6 |
Rebounds |
Jacob Kurtz 7 |
|
Marcus Thornton 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Dorian Finney-Smith 4 |
|
Omar Prewitt 1 |
Steals |
Chris Chiozza 3 |
|
Daniel Dixon 1 |
Blocks |
Devin Robinson 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| William & Mary
|
45 |
31.6 |
2-22 |
7-9 |
4 |
30 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
| Florida
|
68 |
47.2 |
6-17 |
12-15 |
13 |
38 |
1 |
8 |
11 |
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