Rebel Rally Falls Short at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCBI/AP) — Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, leading five Florida players in double figures, and the Gators beat Mississippi 77-72 Tuesday night.

Florida (16-8, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) swept both games against the Rebels (15-9, 5-6) this season while improving to 12-1 at home.

The latest one was a nail-biter until the final minute.

(Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports)

Florida’s Kasey Hill hit a circus shot with 1:19 remaining and KeVaughn Allen followed with a deep 3-pointer from the wing that put the game out of reach.

The Rebels trailed by 10 in the second half, but closed to 67-66 after Stefan Moody made eight consecutive points. Moody had a chance to tie the game, but missed a free throw. He fouled out a couple minutes later, heading to the bench after getting called for a charge with 1:09 to play.

Moody finished with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Tomasz Gielo led the Rebels with 20 points.

Finney-Smith was Florida’s main man once again. He had plenty of help, though.

Allen finished with 15 points, and Devin Robinson (15), John Egbunu (14) and Hill (10) also scored in double figures. Egbunu chipped in 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double. Robinson was solid on both ends, even taking three charges.

Robinson’s emphatic dunk with 5 seconds remaining brought the crowd to its feet for one final, long ovation.

Mississippi had won three in a row in conference play and seemed to get a boost with the return of forward Sebastian Saiz, who missed the last six games following eye surgery. Saiz played with dark, protective glasses, and had four points and five rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench in the first half. But he did little after the break.

The Gators led 22-12 early, thanks to Allen’s strong start. The freshman made an up-and-under layup off the opening tip, a baseline jumper and three free throws in the first 9 minutes of the game.

Hill pushed the lead to 10 with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from the corner.

Making matters worse for the Rebels, Moody picked up his third foul with 8:19 remaining in the half and headed to the bench.

That would seem like a big blow for Ole Miss, but Andy Kennedy’s team got back in the game by getting hot from behind the arc. Rasheed Brooks, Gielo and Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey hit consecutive treys, and Gielo followed with a driving layup that tied the game at 29.

Ole Miss tied it up again early in the second half, but Florida started to pull away by pushing the ball inside.

The Rebels had no answer for Egbunu in the paint and let Finney-Smith get open for a dunk and allowed Chris Chiozza to drive for a layup. Chiozza added a deep 3 during a 7-0 run that gave the Gators a little cushion in a close, back-and-forth game.

Nonetheless, it came down to the final few minutes.

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TIP-INS

Mississippi: Led 40-37 early in the second half. … Had won three of the last five meetings in the series. … Kennedy still needs one victory to tie Rick Stansbury for the fourth-most wins by an SEC coach in his first 10 years.

Florida: Coach Mike White improved to 2-0 against his alma mater. … Extended 3-point streak to 820 consecutive games.

UP NEXT

Mississippi hosts Arkansas on Saturday.

Florida hosts Alabama on Saturday.