NCAAB Game Recap - North Florida at Florida
Tue Nov 27, 2018 7:00 PM EST

Ind
69
Duke
90
F
Nev
79
LoyIL
65
F
MSU
78
Lou
82
F(OT)
VaTec
62
PSU
63
F
Pitt
68
Iowa
69
F
NCSU
75
Wisc
79
F
(N/A)
59
StFPA
113
F
Hartfo
89
SacHr
98
F
MD-ES
64
StJon
85
F
(N/A)
65
South
74
F
ArkPB
49
Cin
105
F
HowPa
53
AbCh
90
F
ECU
86
UNCW
95
F
(N/A)
59
Elon
92
F
UMassL
75
UConn
97
F
Stony
79
Norf
73
F
Amer
74
VMI
64
F
(N/A)
62
Chat
95
F
Ill
74
ND
76
F
(N/A)
33
UNCG
111
F
BrwP
65
Mercer
90
F
ETSU
69
GaSo
64
F
UNCC
56
David
76
F
(N/A)
62
Ball
108
F
(N/A)
39
WriSt
58
F
WCU
64
Wake
71
F
Iona
65
Ohio
89
F
KennSt
51
UGA
84
F
NFla
66
Fla
98
F
HiPt
87
Citad
112
F
ULM
80
NWSt
52
F
(N/A)
69
SEMO
72
F
Penn
76
DelSt
48
F
NoKY
93
MorSt
71
F
TexAr
58
Tuls
72
F
Lamar
65
SMU
79
F
ChaSo
55
Marq
76
F
Savan
85
Vand
120
F
N TX
57
Okla
73
F
Bois
74
Drake
83
F
SDak
57
Baylor
63
F
FaDi
59
Prov
69
F
E WA
59
Wash
83
F
(N/A)
61
Web
100
F
UND
76
MTSt
81
F
SIU
82
ColSt
67
F
Temp
79
Mizzu
77
F
(N/A)
44
Ida
98
F
JackSt
44
SDSU
87
F
CSNor
94
WaSt
103
F

Nov 27, 2018, 7:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

North Florida

33

33

66

Florida

53

45

98

Locke scores career-high 18, Florida beats UNF 98-66
Tue Nov 27, 2018 9:42 PM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Florida is finding points and energy from a couple unexpected sources.

Noah Locke scored a career-high 18 points, Deaundrae Ballard added 15 and the Gators handled North Florida 98-66 Tuesday night.

Locke, a freshman from Maryland, has worked his way into the starting lineup in place of senior Jalen Hudson and emerged as a reliable scorer for the Gators (4-3).

"No one on our team plays any harder than Noah," Florida coach Mike White said.

Ballard, a sophomore from Atlanta, is giving White production off the bench. Ballard reached double figures for the third consecutive game. He had a career-high 19 points in Florida's last game against Stanford.

"I'm very proud of his progression," White said.

Locke and Ballard were two of six Florida players with at least 10 points against the overmatched Ospreys (2-5). KeVaughn Allen scored 13, Kevarrius Hayes added 12, Keyontae Johnson chipped in 11 and Keith Stone finished with 10 for the Gators.

Florida shot a season-high 56.5 percent from the field and made 16 of 28 from 3-point range.

The Gators tied an NCAA record by having nine different players hit a 3. They reached the mark when walk-on Andrew Fava hit from long range with 31 seconds remaining.

"That's what they do," UNF coach Matthew Driscoll said. "We be more surprised when they're not hitting 3s than when they are."

Florida turned a one-point game into a double-digit lead midway through the first half and really got things going with a late run just before the break. Ballard and Johnson hit 3-pointers during the spurt.

Florida led 53-33 at intermission and stretched the lead to 30 with about 10 minutes to play.

White rotated 11 guys, and all of them scored. Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard was the last to find the basket, ending a scoreless night with a 3-pointer with 4 minutes to play. He also had 11 assists and no turnovers.

"He's pretty good, huh?" White said. "He's tough. He cares. He's about the right things."

Noah Horchler led North Florida with 16 points. Garrett Sams (15), Ivan Gandia-Rosa (13) and J.T. Escobar (11) also reached double figures for the Ospreys.

Florida improved to 8-0 in the series, including wins in each of the last four years.

Locke and Ballard led the way in the latest one.

"It's all about confidence," Locke said. "I feel like guys had the mentality of trying to defend our home court, and we needed to knock down shots to win."

THE TAKEAWAY

North Florida: The Ospreys got a taste of what's to come with a challenging, non-conference schedule that includes trips to Minnesota, No. 15 Florida State and eighth-ranked Auburn in December. Coach Matthew Driscoll hopes it better prepares his guys for Atlantic-Sun Conference play.

Florida: The Gators notched their third win in as many games at home, all against overmatched opponents. Their next one in the O'Connell Center won't be a pushover since No. 9 Michigan State visits Dec. 8, which follows a game against West Virginia.

"I can tell you one thing: we're not shooting 57 percent against either one of those teams," White said.

UP NEXT

North Florida hosts Florida A&M on Thursday, playing at home for the first time in more than two weeks.

Florida plays West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

North Florida PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
N. Horchler 16 0 1 10 0 0
G. Sams 15 0 1 2 3 0
Florida PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
N. Locke 18 0 0 3 0 0
D. Ballard 15 0 0 3 1 1

Team Comparison

NFla Fla
Points For 66 98
Field Goals 24/58-41% 39/69-57%
Three Pointers 9/26-35% 16/28-57%
Free Throws 9/11-82% 4/6-67%
Offensive Rebounds 9 15
Defensive Rebounds 16 27
Rebounds 27 44
Blocks 0 6
Steals 5 11
Turnovers 16 11
Personal Fouls 8 17
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Fla Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Tue Nov 27 NFla 66 @ Fla 98 N. Horchler 16 N. Locke 18

Game Information

Stadium: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Attendance: 8,505
Game Time: