Sports
Bulls and Gators Earn Orange Bowl Basketball Classic Wins in Convincing Fashion
SUNRISE, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The 29th edition of the Auto Nation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic featured three Florida teams (Florida Gators, FSU Seminoles, USF Bulls) along with the Richmond Spiders who were making their second appearance at the event. While all four teams were represented in the stands, the seats were mostly filled with orange and blue.
Game 1 – USF Bulls (AAC) vs FSU Seminoles (ACC)
The Bulls stampeded out the gate scoring the first eight points of the game and never trailing enroute to a 38-24 halftime lead. Florida State struggled to hit baskets in the first half, shooting 2-11 from three-point land while USF shot 6-14. The 2nd half didn’t start any different as USF scored nine straight points, including a monster dunk by Kasean Pryor, to extend the lead to 43-24 within the first 90 seconds. Back-to-back dunks by FSU cut the lead to 15, but Chris Youngblood hit a three-pointer to push it back to 18. With just under 13 minutes to go, the Noles cut the lead to single digits (nine) with an 8-0 run, but they wouldn’t hit a field goal for the next seven-plus minutes as USF pushed the lead to 21.
South Florida shot 52.2 percent from three-point range (12-23) against a top 10 ranked Florida State defense that entered the game holding opponents to 25.2 percent from three.
Jamir Watkins scored a team-high 15 points for FSU before fouling out and Baba Miller had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but Florida lost their third straight game.
Chris Youngblood was named MVP, helping first year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim earn his first signature win. Youngblood followed Abdur-Rahim to USF after spending three seasons at together at Kennesaw State. It was the Bulls first win against the ACC since 2007.
Seminoles fall to .500 on the season, dropping to 4-4 and hope to stop their three-game slide as they host SMU on Saturday. USF improves to 3-4 and will host AR-Pine Bluff on Tuesday.
Game 2- Florida Gators (SEC) vs Richmond Spiders (A-10)
The Florida Gators played a complete game for the first time since their 19-point win over Florida State last month enroute to an 87-76 win over the Richmond Spiders. Florida transfer bigs (Tyrese Samuel – Seton Hall/Micah Handlogten – Marshall) dominated the paint and boards from the start, each hitting a three-pointer in the first half as the Gators built a 40-30 lead. Richmond scored six quick points to open the second half and cut the lead to four and the teams traded baskets until freshman Alex Condon threw down a thunderous dunk bringing the lead back to nine with 15:21 to go.
After the under-16 media timeout, Will Richard hit three consecutive three-pointers to push the lead to 16, Florida’s largest of the game. Richard, named MVP, scored 19 of his game-high 21 after halftime. Mikkel Tyne’s three-pointer with 7:19 left in the game cut the deficit to seven and had Gator coach Todd Golden looking at scoreboard debating whether or not to use a timeout. He didn’t and the team responded and maintained the seven-point advantage until the final buzzer.
Preseason A-10 first team center Neal Quinn had 17 points but was unable to stop the Gators down low. Tyrese Samuel led the way with 18 points and 14 boards (ties career high). Handlogten added eight points and 10 rebounds as they outscored Richmond 34-18 in the paint.
Despite being outshot behind the arc (50 percent with 11 made to 31 percent with nine made) and committing more turnovers (12 to 8), the Gators lead all but three minutes of the game. It’s even more impressive with Walter Clayton Jr. and Riley Kugel combining to shoot 6-for-23 (1-11 from three).
The Gators held A-10 scoring leader Jordan King to 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting (0-for-4 from three), which is seven points below his average (21ppg).
Florida out-rebounded Richmond 49-30 and held the Spiders to 39 percent shooting inside the arc. Richmond entered shooting 58 percent on two-point field goal attempts, one of the highest rates in the nation.
The last time the Florida Gators and Richmond Spiders met in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic (2009), the Spiders left Florida with a 56-53 win. Florida now leads the series 4-2, evening the score at the OBBC while giving coach Todd Golden his first win (1-0) in Sunrise.
Florida plays East Carolina in the Florida Tip-Off on Thursday in Lakeland, Florida. Richmond has a home game against Charlotte on Saturday.
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Matt Wolff is a South Florida reporter for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com
MIAMI (FNN SPORTS) — Argentina avoided what could have been one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, surviving a major scare from Cabo Verde with a 3-2 extra-time victory Friday in the Round of 32.
Leo Messi. Photo by Harry Castiblanco / Florida National News
Argentina Survives Despite Lackluster Performance
The defending World Cup champions delivered an uneven and uninspiring performance, appearing too comfortable after taking a 1-0 first-half lead on a goal by Lionel Messi.
But Argentina’s complacency proved costly as Cabo Verde, one of the tournament’s Cinderella stories, continued to press and eventually found an equalizer through Deroy Duarte.
Messi Goal Not Enough to Settle Match
Messi gave Argentina the early advantage, but the team failed to build on the lead or control the match with authority. Argentina’s attack lacked urgency for long stretches, allowing Cabo Verde to grow in confidence and push the match into extra time.
Extra-Time Drama
Argentina regained the lead in the 93rd minute when center back Lisandro Martínez scored to make it 2-1. Cabo Verde answered 11 minutes later with a stunning equalizer from Sidny Cabral, who curled a spectacular shot past Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez from the corner of the box.
The dramatic strike may stand as one of the best goals of the tournament.
Argentina Advances to Face Egypt
Argentina finally escaped when Cristian Romero headed a corner kick that glanced off a Cabo Verde player and into the net, giving Argentina the narrow win.
With the victory, Argentina advances to face Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta.
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