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Final: Utah State 65, Florida 62

Sunrise, FL – Florida faced Mountain West foe Utah State in the Orange Bowl Classic on Saturday.

Unfortunately, the Gators struggled with their shot all game and dropped the contest, 65-62.

Florida opened the game missing their first 14 shots and fell behind 7-2 early on. The Gators took the lead after a Noah Locke three with just under 3 minutes left in the first half and entered the break tied at 27 despite their struggles offensively.

Florida opened a six point lead (38-32) early in th second half, but Utah State immediately went on a 10-0 run to quickly regain the lead.

Florida once again grabbed the lead with 6:06 remaining when senior Kerry Blackshear sank a pair of free throws.

The Gators went into miss-mode again and went on an 0-10 stretch that allowed Utah State to take 61-55 lead with less than two minutes to play and finish with the win.

Kerry Blackshear delivered a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 3-14 from the field. Blackshear made 15-17 from the free-throw line, but missed both in a late-game situation that could have helped change the momentum and possibly the outcome of the game.

The Gators made only 32% of their shots attempts, but allowed the Aggies to shoot at a 45% clip.

Florida falls to 7-4 with the loss.

Individual Stats:

• Blackshear: 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3-14 FG
• Scottie Lewis: 11 points on 5-9 FG, 5 rebounds

Team Stats:

• FG%: 32
• 3FG%: 24
• FT%: 82
• Reb+/-: +8
• Assists: 8
• TO: 13
• Bench Points: 6

What’s Next:

The Gators will have a week off before facing Long Beach State in Gainesville on Saturday, December 28.

This will be Florida’s final tune-up before entering SEC play.

LBSU is 3-9 with games against Utah Valley and Seattle before their matchup with Florida.