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Saturday’s Orlando NCAA Recap: Xavier Edges Out ‘Noles, Gators Head to Sweet 16

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ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) - UF Gators' Chris Chiozza (left) and Devin Robinson celebrate after their win against Virginia at Amway Center Saturday, March 18, 2017. Photo: Octavio Jones/Tampa Bay Times.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – Saturday’s games at Amway Center had a hint of orange, blue, maroon and gold in the crowd as both Florida teams highlighted each of the two games in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In the opening game, the Florida State Seminoles took on the Xavier Musketeers and the Florida Gators took on the Virginia Cavaliers in the night session.

 

Xavier’s Hot Shooting From Deep Ends Florida State’s Season

ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) Trevon Bluiett (right) and Xavier defeat Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Amway Center Saturday, March 18, 2017. Photo: Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) Trevon Bluiett (right) and Xavier defeat Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Amway Center Saturday, March 18, 2017. Photo: Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

 

Trevon Bluiett was not going to let his team go down in a hostile environment. He scored 21 of 29 points in the second half as the Xavier Musketeers defeated the Florida State Seminoles by the score of 91 to 68. Unlike Thursday’s opening round game against Maryland, Xavier used a solid start to build a lead that Florida State could not get close to cracking.

“I’m really proud of this group. The biggest thing for us going into this game was to be able to take care of the ball, not get Florida State out in transition where they’re phenomenal, and try to keep them off the glass.” -Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack

Xavier led for almost 37 of the game’s 40 minutes and used 3-point shooting to fuel their victory. Xavier hit 11 for 17 from behind the arc and were led by Kaiser Gates off the bench who had 4 of them. Xavier lead by as many as 25 points in the second half.

Even though Florida State leading scorer Dwayne Bacon scored 20 points on 9 for 18 shooting, he missed all 5 of his shots from beyond the 3-point line. Florida State as a team shot 4 for 21 from 3. The reason behind the struggles was Xavier Head Coach Mack’s choice to use a zone defense to exploit Florida State’s shooting problems.

Xavier will play in the West Region’s Sweet 16 next weekend against Arizona at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Florida State finishes its season with a 26-9 record.

Leaders:

Scoring:

  • Xavier: Bluiett – 29
  • Florida State: Bacon – 20

Rebounding:

  • Xavier: Blueitt – 6
  • Florida State: Jonathan Issac – 12

Assists:

  • Xavier: Quentin Goodin/J.P. Macuara – 5
  • Florida State: Xavier Rathan-Mayes/Bacon – 3

 

Florida Uses Defense To Advance To The Sweet 16

ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) - UF Gators' Chris Chiozza (left) and Devin Robinson celebrate after their win against Virginia at Amway Center Saturday, March 18, 2017. Photo: Octavio Jones/Tampa Bay Times.

ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) – UF Gators’ Chris Chiozza (left) and Devin Robinson celebrate after their win against Virginia at Amway Center Saturday, March 18, 2017. Photo: Octavio Jones/Tampa Bay Times.

 

Before the game, the Virginia Cavaliers were known for their team defense and their ability to keep teams off the scoreboard, but by the end of the game with the Florida Gators Saturday night, it was the Gators who used defense to advance in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators held the Cavaliers to 29.6% shooting and 7% from the 3-point line as they won by the score of 65-39.

“It was a terrific win. I’m really proud of these guys. It wasn’t one guy individually. It was a collective effort to hold a 23-win ACC team to under 30 percent [shooting]” – Florida Head Coach Mike White

Florida held Virginia’s London Perrantes, who scored 24 points on Thursday, to 6 points on 2 for 12 shooting Saturday and caused him to commit 4 turnovers in the game. Tony Bennett’s team never got into a shooting groove and the Gator fans who packed the Amway Center made it feel like a road game.

Even though Kevaughn Allen, the Gators leading scorer, and Kasey Hill struggled shooting the ball, it was the Gators’ starting front-court that set the tone offensively for Florida. Junior Forward Devin Robinson scored 7 of his team-high 14 points in the opening few minutes and his energy was one of the major reasons why the Gators took a 14-point lead into halftime. The other starting forward, Justin Leon, scored 14 points, and his 3-pointer led the Gators. Both players had a double-double in the game and Virginia had no answer for each.

Florida advances to play Wisconsin next weekend at Madison Square Garden in the Sweet 16. Virginia finishes its season at 23-11.

Leaders:

Scoring:

  • Florida: Robinson/Leon – 14
  • Virginia: Mamadi Diakite – 9

Rebounding:

  • Florida: Robinson – 11
  • Virginia: Jack Salt – 10

Assists:

  • Florida: Chris Chiozza – 5
  • Virginia: Darius Thompson/Perrantes – 3

 

Danny Thompson is a contributing sports reporter for Florida National News. He can also be found over at NBA Full Court Press Radio.

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Addition Financial, UCF Extend Naming Rights Agreement for Arena

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Addition Financial Arena on UCF's main campus. Photo via Trip Advisor.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – UCF has extended its naming rights partnership with Addition Financial Credit Union for an additional dozen years—in the process continuing to identify Addition Financial Arena on the UCF campus as the Knights’ home for men’s and women’s basketball games and a variety of other events.

 

The new agreement is a 12-year, $20 million partnership that follows up the original naming rights pact signed by UCF and Additional Financial in 2013. The new deal takes effect Jan. 1, 2023.

 

The UCF Board of Trustees approved the name at its meeting this morning, and the full deal is expected to be approved Aug. 25 by the UCF Athletics Association.

 

“We’ve had a partnership with Addition Financial for nearly a decade, and we’re excited that Kevin Miller and the Addition Financial Board have agreed to extend our relationship for an additional 12 years,” says UCF vice president and athletics director Terry Mohajir. “This is a great new venture with outstanding community partners.

 

“Resources will be paramount as we transition into the Big 12 Conference a year from now, and Addition Financial will play a key role for us as we invest more resources to enhance our education and athletics missions!”

In 2013, Addition Financial was named the Official Financial Institution of the UCF Knights and is the exclusive credit union for UCF Athletics. Since that time, Addition Financial has partnered with UCF Athletics to provide scholarships, financial education workshops and other sponsorship support. Addition Financial is also the home of the official UCF Knights debit cards, with designs featuring the new Knight head and the Citronaut.

 

“Addition Financial is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with UCF Athletics and to align with Orlando’s hometown teams. Knight Nation has truly inspired us along their journey to the Big 12, and we look forward to embarking on that journey alongside them as we extend our partnership,” said Kevin Miller, Addition Financial president and CEO.

The 10,000-seat Addition Financial Arena has been home to the UCF men’s and women’s basketball programs since the start of their 2007-08 seasons. Located in the heart of Knights Plaza on the north side of campus, the state-of-the-art facility opened in the fall of 2007 and also hosts premiere concerts along with UCF commencement ceremonies.

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College Basketball

UCF Knights “Charge On” to 80-58 Victory over Quinnipiac

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UCF Knights 80- Quinnipiac Bobcats 58. Image: UCF.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The UCF Knights (5-4) hosted the Quinnipiac Bobcats (1-6) at Addition Financial Arena Tuesday night in just their third overall meeting; with both teams splitting the match-ups with one win each in previous years’ match-ups. The last game between the two schools was December 29, 2005 in Orlando, which the Bobcats won 71-55. This time, however, the outcome favored the Knights.

The first half of the game was competitive with the score tied on four occasions and seven lead changes. UCF Knights entered halftime with a 40-29 lead over the Bobcats. Leading the Knights in scoring was Kay Kay Wright with 10 points; and for the Bobcats, Shaq Edwards with 12 points.

The Knights started the third period on a mission with a 10-2 run, increasing their lead to 18 points. With a mixture of defenses and using their length inside, the Knights controlled the second half with offense rebounding, winning the battle of points in the paint (50-10) and forcing 22 turnovers from the Bobcats that resulted in 21 points for the Knights. In the end, the Knights won the contest 80-58. Leading all scorers was Shaq Edwards of Quinnipiac and Brittney Smith of UCF with 18 points apiece.

Next up, UCF Women’s Basketball host St. Mary’s (4-5) Friday, December 20, 2019 at 2:30pm.

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Jelisa Caldwell is a Florida National News sports contributor. | info@floridanationalnews.com

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College Basketball

Forced Turnovers Carries Knights to American Athletic Conference Quarterfinals

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ORLANDO (FNN SPORTS) - The University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights used defense carry them to a 66-52 victory over the East Carolina Pirates. Photo: Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – In the final game of the opening day of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Central Florida Knights used defense carry them to a 66-52 victory over the East Carolina Pirates.

Senior guard B.J. Taylor led the Knights in scoring with 17 points and head coach Johnny Dawkins’ team forced 20 turnovers in the victory. In front of a partisan crowd at Amway Center, the Knights used a 10-0 run to put them up by 11 with 6:12 to go in the game. After the Pirates cut the lead to 46-45 with 9:15 to go, Terrell Allen had two steals in a three-minute stretch and A.J. Davis capped the run with back-to-back layups that put the game out of reach.

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Danny Thompson is a sports contributor for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com

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