Florida defeated Bethune-Cookman on Thursday evening in a dynamic 83-69 affair. The Gators went into the break leading by seven points, and then outscored the Wildcats 47-40 over the final 20 minutes to secure the win.
Aliyah Matharu scored 25 points while recording six assists to lead the way for Florida. The Gators put a particular emphasis on generating easy looks close to the hoop, shooting 24-of-40 on two-pointers, including 44 points scored in the paint. Efficiency metrics evaluated the offense at an average of 1.06 points scored per possession on 58% true shooting.
Bethune-Cookman was led by Chanel Wilson‘s 18 points and five assists, while O’Mariyah Tucker contributed another 16 points. As a team, the Wildcats had some offensive struggles, scoring just 0.9 points per possession on 35% shooting from the field. They were heavily challenged on field goal attempts in the paint, scoring just 35% of their total points on those shot attempts near the hoop.
- Florida outscored Bethune-Cookman in the paint 44 to 24
- Bethune-Cookman recorded assists on 55% of attempted field goals
- Aliyah Matharu recorded a game-high +18 plus-minus
Florida is now 2-0 thanks to the win. The Gators will welcome Florida St. to the Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Nov. 17 for their next game. This evening’s defeat was another tough result for Bethune-Cookman. It had lost in its last outing against UCF and was looking to rebound. The Wildcats will hope for a better result in their next game, a Nov. 15 visit by Iona to Daytona Beach.