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Florida beats Wake Forest as bloodied Michael Frazier plays through injury

 
SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 20: Kiel Turpin #11 of the Florida State Seminoles pulls in a defensive rebound against Corey Allen Jr. #4 of the South Florida Bulls during the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on December 20, 2014 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. Florida State defeated South Florida 75-62. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) 526741637
SUNRISE, FL - DECEMBER 20: Kiel Turpin #11 of the Florida State Seminoles pulls in a defensive rebound against Corey Allen Jr. #4 of the South Florida Bulls during the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on December 20, 2014 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. Florida State defeated South Florida 75-62. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) 526741637
Published Dec. 21, 2014

SUNRISE — Florida guard and Tampa native Michael Frazier already has the surname of a famous boxer.

On Saturday, he bled like one.

With 11:13 left in the first half, Frazier pump-faked then bumped heads with Wake Forest's Aaron Roundtree. Both players hit the deck, and blood flowed on the court.

Frazier sat out the rest of the half but returned after the break to help the Gators knock off Wake Forest 63-50 in the Orange Bowl Classic at the BB&T Center.

It was the fourth straight win for Florida (7-4), which received a boost from Duke transfer Alex Murphy, who scored nine in his UF debut.

Frazier, the Gators' leading scorer, was charged with an offensive foul on the play in which he leaned into Roundtree, who returned to the game in a few minutes.

"When I went out on the court, I was taken aback at how deep and wide and open" the cut was, Florida coach Billy Donovan said of Frazier, who took 14 stitches. "When you see a cut like that, the first thing you think is, 'What kind of concussion does he have?' "

When Frazier returned, he was sporting a large, white bandage over his right eye. Frazier, though, said he passed all the concussion tests.

"I knew once they stitched me up that I was going to be able to play again, but I was telling them to hurry," said Frazier, who scored seven of his 12 after the injury.

"I've never had that many stitches before. When I went down, I noticed (the blood) was gushing, but it didn't freak me out."

Florida was led by Dorian Smith-Finney, who had 16 points. The Gators forced 24 turnovers, including 16 in the first half. The Gators also held Wake to 37 percent shooting, including 29.2 percent in the first half.

Wake (5-6) trailed 29-18 at halftime but made a run to get within 46-45 with 8:48 remaining. But the Demon Deacons never got any closer.

"We should be further along (as a team this season), and I'm not saying we have it all figured out," said Donovan, whose club finished the game on a 17-5 run.

"But when (Wake) cut the lead to one, for the first time this season, I saw some internal fight (in us). That was encouraging."