MBB: Gators cruise past Stanford in Battle 4 Atlantis

FINAL: FLORIDA 72, STANFORD 49

Nassau, Bahamas- One day after a disappointing loss to Oklahoma to open the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, the Gators came out with a solid all-around effort and cruised to victory after taking a commanding first half lead over Stanford on Thursday.

Florida improved to 3-2 while the Cardinal fell to 2-3.

Game Trends

The contest opened with an offensive struggle. Florida set the tone defensively from the start as the Gators forced Daejon Davis into a turnover on the Cardinal’s first offensive set. The two teams reached the first media timeout with a score of 2-0 UF. The Gators shot only 1-9 to that point, but had held Stanford to 0-5.

The Cardinal got to within three points of Florida at 7-4 with 13:20 in the half, but Florida went on a 25-9 to take a 32-13 lead into the locker room.

Stanford would be unable to close the gap in the second half as the two teams would mostly exchanges baskets and mini-runs.

Fast Facts

• Sophomore guard Deaundre Ballard led Florida with a career high 19 points on 7-12 shooting, including 3-5 from deep.
• Senior guard KeVaughn Allen (13) and freshman guard Noah Locke (11) were the only other Gators to score in double-figures.
• Locke was starting his first career game, this is the first time since 2016 that UF has started two freshmen.
• Jalen Hudson did not start and saw very limited minutes for Mike White’s squad. Hudson scored four points in the Oklahoma loss, and it’s possible White was making a statement, but we haven’t heard anything official as of yet.
• Florida shot 7-15 (46%) from deep, something this team must do well with such a deep backcourt.
• The Gators shot 7-10 from the charity stripe, one day after make only three of eleven attempts against Oklahoma.

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