JIMMY V CLASSIC

AT THE BUZZER

FLORIDA 66, WEST VIRGINIA 56

Forward Keith Stone scores and is fouled in the first of Tuesday night's game against West Virginia. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

The Gators snapped out of one of those ugly offensive droughts they have a way of falling into by slapping a second half of menacing defense on the high-scoring Mountaineers and came away from Madison Square Garden with a feel-good victory Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic. Senior guardscored a season-high 19 points, redshirt junior forwardhad nine points, eight rebounds and three steals, but it was that UF defense that limited WVU to just six points through the first 11 minutes of the second half, enabling the Gators to find the basket again, take the lead and eventually hold off the Mountaineers, who came in averaging 86.4 points per game and ranked 19th in offensive efficiency. Florida led by 12 with just over four minutes to go in the first half, when West Virginia began a run of 13 straight points that bridged the two halves -- the Gators didn't score a point for 8 minutes, 55 seconds -- and trailed for their only time of the game, 31-30, just over three minutes into the period. Two free throws and a pull-up jumper by Allen, however, jump-started what became an 18-2 blitz by the Gators that opened up a 14-point margin with just over 10 minutes left. WVU cut it to single-digits inside three minutes, but UF made the plays and free throws to finish the game. Florida shot just 33 percent for the game, including just 6-for-21 from 3, and had a tough night at the free-throw line (28-for-46), but the Gators were better than WVU. The Mountaineers hit 29.7 percent overall, went just seven of 23 from deep, also struggled at the line (11 of 22) and turned the ball over 21 times. WVU star centercame into the game scoring nearly 15 points and more than eight rebounds a game, but was walled up by a host of Gators all night and managed just four points on 2-for-10 shooting to go with six boards and five turnovers before fouling out in just 18 minutes.This was UF's second win in five cracks against high-major opponents, so the outcome was much needed for a team dealing with confidence issues, especially on offense. WVU, though not as talented as in seasons past, is notorious for being tough, so the Gators have something to build on. Also, with the win, UF avoided falling to .500 through eight games for only the second time in the last 22 seasons.Nice all-around game by Stone, who scored all his points and grabbed six of his eight rebounds in the first half. The Gators need to get him going if they're going to start rounding their on-again, off-again offense into shape.Coming into the night, freshman point guardlast turnover came with 9:25 left against Stanford in the Battle 4 Atlantis. That was three games ago. He went nearly 15 minutes of the first half before he finally was whistled for his first give-away in a stunning 82-plus minutes over four games. Along the way, Nembhard was credited with 25 assists. Against the Mountaineers he finished with seven points, four rebounds, six assists, two turnovers and a pair of steals.Florida (5-3) is home Saturday for a high-noon tip against mighty Michigan State (7-2), which began the week ranked ninth in the country. The game is the return matchup from a home-and-home agreement that sent the Gators to East Lansing in 2015, with the Spartans winning 58-52 ininaugural season. MSU opened the season by falling to then-No. 1 Kansas 82-77 and has double-digit victories over UCLA, Texas and, most recently, a 90-68 wipeout of No. 18 Iowa in the Big Ten opener for both teams.