National Basketball Association
Florida 76, Mercer 54
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 13, 2016
Where: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Officials:
# Tony Greene, # Lee Cassell, # Wil Howard
Attendance:
3716
By The Sports Xchange
Senior forward Justin Leon scored 17 points and Florida overcame cold shooting to blow out Mercer 76-54 Sunday at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Gators (2-0) shot just 36.1 percent from the floor, but dominated the backboards and pestered the Bears into 17 turnovers. Florida outrebounded Mercer 47-32.
Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen finished with 13 points and junior forward Devin Robinson had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Gators.
Mercer (1-1) has made a habit of knocking off power-conference teams under coach Bob Hoffman, but couldn't match up with the Gators on Sunday. Junior guard Ria'n Holland led the Bear with 21 points. No other Mercer player scored in double figures.
Florida took control late in the first half, outscoring the Bears 20-4 in the final eight minutes. The Gators led 36-14 at halftime behind 10 points from Robinson.
Mercer shot 33.3 percent from the floor and scored only two points in the final five minutes of the first half. The Gators also shot 33.3 percent in the first half, but were able to capitalize on 12 turnovers by the Bears.
Florida was never seriously challenged in the second half and cruised to its second win to start the season.
The Gators, under second-year coach Mike White, are expected to contend in the SEC and were picked to finish second in the conference behind only Kentucky by the media in the preseason.
The Gators will take on St. Bonaventure on Thursday in Lakeland, Fla. Mercer will try to bounce back Tuesday at home against Radford.
Top Game Performances
| Mercer |
|
Florida |
|
Ria'n Holland 21 |
Scoring |
Justin Leon 17 |
|
Ross Cummings 2 |
Assists |
KeVaughn Allen 5 |
|
Ryan Johnson 7 |
Rebounds |
Devin Robinson 9 |
|
Andrew Fishler 3 |
Free Throws Made |
KeVaughn Allen 5 |
|
Darius Roy 2 |
Steals |
KeVaughn Allen 2 |
|
Desmond Ringer 2 |
Blocks |
KeVaughn Allen 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Mercer
|
54 |
37.3 |
7-19 |
9-17 |
9 |
31 |
4 |
6 |
17 |
| Florida
|
76 |
36.1 |
8-25 |
24-30 |
14 |
42 |
6 |
6 |
13 |
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