National Basketball Association
Florida 69, Alabama 61
When: 1:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 12, 2015
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Tim Gattis, # Ron Groover, # Mike Nance
Attendance:
22026
By SportsDirect Inc.
Florida 69, Alabama 61: Dorian Finney-Smith had
23 points and 11 rebounds as the eighth-seeded Gators beat the ninth-seeded Crimson
Tide in the second round of the SEC tournament in Nashville.
Eli Carter added 11 points for Florida (16-16),
which beat Alabama for the 11th straight time and advanced to face
No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Kentucky in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Gators, who
also received 10 points off the bench from Devin Robinson, committed only six
turnovers and had a 35-24 rebounding advantage.
Levi Randolph and Jimmie Taylor had 15 points apiece to pace Alabama (18-14),
which has lost three of its last four games. Rodney Cooper added 13 points
before fouling out, and Retin Obasohan had 10 for the Crimson Tide, who were outrebounded 12-3 on the offensive glass.
Alabama, which trailed 33-29 at the half, pulled
to within 43-40 on a three-point play from Randolph with 13:37 remaining, but
Finney-Smith and Robinson answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch
Florida’s lead to 49-40. The Crimson Tide would get as close as 60-53, but the
Gators scored the next five points to effectively seal the win.
Alabama started fast, hitting seven of its first
nine shots and all seven of its free-throw attempts in taking a 23-18 lead. Florida scored the next eight points as part of a half-closing 15-6 run which
put the Gators up by four at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida, which has reached the SEC
tourney title game in three of the past four seasons, is now 27-14 in the event
under coach Billy Donovan. … Cooper, who picked up his fourth foul with 16:56
left and fouled out with 3:10 to play, scored only two of his 13 points in the second
half. … Donovan improved to 16-2 against former assistant coaches, including
10-0 against Alabama coach Anthony Grant, who coached 10 seasons under Donovan.
Top Game Performances
| Alabama |
|
Florida |
|
Levi Randolph 15 |
Scoring |
Dorian Finney-Smith 23 |
|
Levi Randolph 4 |
Assists |
Chris Chiozza 4 |
|
Riley Norris 7 |
Rebounds |
Dorian Finney-Smith 11 |
|
Levi Randolph 11 |
Free Throws Made |
Dorian Finney-Smith 5 |
|
Levi Randolph 3 |
Steals |
Kasey Hill 1 |
|
Jimmie Taylor 2 |
Blocks |
Chris Walker 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Alabama
|
61 |
45.2 |
4-14 |
19-23 |
9 |
21 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
| Florida
|
69 |
42.9 |
9-29 |
18-26 |
11 |
33 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
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