Florida beats Jacksonville 89-65, stays unbeaten at home
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) KeVaughn Allen scored a career-high 15 points, leading four Florida players in double figures, and the Gators beat Jacksonville 89-65 on Tuesday night.
John Egbunu (14), Dorian Finney-Smith (13) and Devin Robinson (12) also reached double figures for Florida (8-3), which improved to 5-0 at home this season. Mike White became the first Florida coach to win his first five home games since Norm Sloan in 1960.
The Gators never trailed in this one, but the Dolphins made it close early in the second half.
Jacksonville trimmed what had been a 13-point lead to 42-37 shortly after the break. Finney-Smith was on the bench for the spurt, but when he entered the game, the Gators took off. They used a 25-5 run to turn a close game into a laugher.
Finney-Smith had a layup, two free throws and a 3-pointer in the key stretch. The biggest difference was Florida started attacking Jacksonville's zone, getting easy buckets in and around the rim and getting to the foul line.
Kori Babineaux led Jacksonville (5-8) with 17 points. Darius Dawkins added 16 points, and Marcel White chipped in 14. Their contribution should have been no surprise since they have accounted for 65 percent of the team's points all season.
The Dolphins also may have been feeling a bit drained. Jacksonville beat Florida A&M at home Monday night and then bused to Gainesville for the second of back-to-back games.
Florida point guards Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza combined for 13 assists and two turnovers. Hill finished with nine points, six assists and five rebounds. Kevarrius Hayes added nine points and seven boards off the bench.
---
TIP-INS
Jacksonville: Dawkins hit four 3-pointers, giving him 53 on the season. He entered the game tied for third-most in the country. By comparison, Florida has 70 treys as a team this season. ... Coach Tony Jasick fell to 0-2 against Florida, losing both games by a combined 69 points.
Florida: Improved to 32-5 against Jacksonville. ... This was Florida's final ''payday game'' of the season. The Gators play rival Florida State next week and then begin Southeastern Conference play. ... Walk-on Zach Hodskins, who was born without a hand on his left arm, got one of the loudest ovations of the night following his basket in the final minute.
UP NEXT
Jacksonville hosts Marist on Tuesday.
Florida hosts Florida State on Tuesday.
