National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Gonzaga 77, Florida 72
When: 9:30 PM ET, Friday, November 25, 2016
Where: HP Field House, Kissimmee, Florida
Officials: # Karl Hess, # Ramie Styons, # Olandis Poole
Attendance: 2941

No. 11 Gonzaga rallied from an early 11-point deficit behind balanced scoring, led by guard Silas Nelson's 10 points in the second half, in a 77-72 win over Florida in a semifinal game of the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Fla., Friday night.

The Bulldogs (5-0) play No. 21 Iowa State (5-0) in the championship game Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Florida (5-1) plays Miami (4-1) in a consolation game at 4:30. The Cyclones defeated the Hurricanes 73-56 in the other semifinal game Friday.

"We certainly faced adversity for the first time this season and I was proud of how our guys responded," Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "We overcame a lot in this game against a tough opponent. The foul trouble concerned me the most but we were able to pull through."

Gonzaga had three players foul out, including starting center Przemek Karnoski and point guard Nigel Williams-Goss. The Bulldogs made 10 of 14 free-throw attempts compared to Florida's 22-of-24 effort.

Florida guard Devon Robinson made all six of his free-throw attempts and finished with a team-best 18 points.

Gonzaga, which shot 51.7 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range, countered with balanced scoring, led by guard Josh Perkins' 18 points. Other contributors included forward Johnathan Williams with 16 points, Williams-Goss (14) and Melson (12).

"It just seemed like we couldn't get into a defensive rhythm, and it led to some offensive stagnancy," said Florida coach Mike White, whose team made only 36.9 percent of its shots, including 10.9 percent (2 of 19) from 3-point range.

Melson's two free throws with 22 seconds left put Gonzaga ahead 76-70. Florida guard Kasey Hill answered with two free throws five seconds later.

After Gonzaga's Jordan Mathews made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts with 12 seconds left, Florida guard KeVaughn Allen missed a 3-pointer.

"Florida constantly challenged us; they are going to have a great season," Few said. "We withstood that, but we also know we have work to do going against a tough Iowa State team."

Gonzaga's game with Florida was tied three times in the first 11 minutes of the second half until the Bulldogs finally got their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Melson with 8:46 left in the second half.

Melson's shot was part of a 13-2 run for Gonzaga, whose defense put the clamps on Florida in that stretch. The Gators went without a field goal from the 11:38 mark of the second half until 6:34 remained, when Allen made a jump shot to cut Gonzaga's lead to 63-59.

Another 3-pointer by Melson with 5:34 left increased Gonzaga's lead to 68-59.

Gonzaga trailed by as many as 11 points, 29-18 with 4:22 remaining in the first half.

Perkins fueled a 14-6 run with 10 points, that included two 3-pointers, with one at the end of that stretch that cut Florida's lead to 35-32 with 1:01 left before halftime.

A jump shot by Robinson with 31 seconds left in the half gave the Gators a 37-32 lead going into intermission.

NOTES: The Gators and Bulldogs played twice previously in their histories, including the 1999 NCAA Tournament matchup in the Sweet 16 at Phoenix, where Gonzaga forward Casey Calvary skied for a put-back with three seconds left for a 73-72 defeat of coach Billy Donovan's first NCAA tournament team. ... Since the 2010-11 season, Gonzaga is 75-0 when scoring at least 80 points in a game. The Bulldogs are 65-0 when holding opponents under 60 points. ... Florida graduate transfer Canyon Berry (from College of Charleston) is the fifth son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry to play Division I basketball, including half-brothers, Jon and Drew, who starred at Georgia Tech, half-brother, Brent, who starred at Oregon State, and half-brother, Scooter, who won a national championship at Kansas in 1988.
Top Game Performances
 
Gonzaga   Florida
Josh Perkins 18 Scoring Devin Robinson 18
Josh Perkins 3 Assists Kasey Hill 7
Killian Tillie 6 Rebounds John Egbunu 7
Josh Perkins 4 Free Throws Made Canyon Barry 6
Josh Perkins 2 Steals Canyon Barry 2
Zach Collins 1 Blocks John Egbunu 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Gonzaga 77 51.7 7-16 10-14 12 34 3 6 16
Florida 72 36.9 2-19 22-24 9 31 6 7 8