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Florida Gators rout Jacksonville, win third straight

 
Published Dec. 15, 2014

GAINESVILLE — With just a 10-point lead at halftime Sunday over a Jacksonville team with eight losses, Florida coach Billy Donovan wasn't happy with his Gators. He said he didn't think they came in with the right approach.

"He challenged us to come out with a lot more energy," junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. "(Jacksonville) played good in the first half, and we just wanted to pick up our energy."

Florida outscored JU 45-10 in the second half and went on to earn a 79-34 victory in front of 10,123 at the O'Connell Center.

The victory gave UF (6-4) a sweep in its three-game home­stand.

Finney-Smith, whose nickname is Doe-Doe, finished with a career-high 25 points and junior guard Michael Frazier had 22. Frazier was 6-of-11 from 3-point range, while Finney-Smith was 5-of-7.

"In the second half (in Friday's win) against Texas Southern, (Frazier) was 0-for-5, so it was good to see him make some shots," Donovan said. "He did some really, really good things. But the one guy I thought elevated our game in the second half in particular was Doe-Doe. He did a really good job rebounding, effort, those kind of things. I know he made some 3s and he scored a lot of points, but I really liked his where his focus level was and where his energy was in the game."

Jacksonville (2-9) made it a one-point game after a 13-4 run, pulling the Dolphins within 18-17 with 9:21 remaining in the first half, but the Gators led 34-24 at halftime.

Florida opened the second half on a 22-4 run to take a 56-28 lead with 12:19 remaining in the game.

Florida freshman point guard Chris Chiozza got his first start in place of Kasey Hill, who was stricken with a stomach virus. Chiozza had four rebounds and four assists.

Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com.