No. 7 Florida Rallies Past MBB, 90-84

Tuesday, December 17

Charlotte, N.C.

7 PM

North Carolina

6-5,1-0ACC

Florida

11-0,0-0SEC

Florida

North Carolina

RJ Davis scored 29 points in the loss.

Photo by: William Anthony

December 17, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)Lucas: Rapid Reactions Media Central

By: Matt Bowers

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Will Richard scored 22 points as No. 7 Florida withstood a furious, second-half rally and beat North Carolina, 90-84, on Tuesday night in the Jumpman Invitational at the Spectrum Center.

The Gators led by as many as 17 points after the Tar Heels struggled offensively in the first half, but Carolina roared back to take the lead several times in the second half before Florida pulled it out by finishing the game on an 8-0 run in the final 1:48.

Carolina's fourth top-10 opponent in its first 11 games, the Gators raced to a big, early lead and held on to improve to 11-0 this season. UNC fell to 6-5 and saw its two-game winning streak come to an end.

RJ Davis led all scorers with 29 points, hitting 10 of 19 shots while also hitting three three-pointers and grabbing eight rebounds. Elliot Cadeau had 11 points and seven assists, Seth Trimble tallied 11 points and seven rebounds and Ian Jackson hit 5 of 9 shots for 11 points.

Alijah Martin scored 19 and Denzel Aberdeen had 12 for the Gators in addition to Richard's 22.

The Tar Heels shot just 29.7 percent from the floor in the first half, including 2 for 16 from three-point range. Carolina turned it on in the second half, however, shooting 62.9 percent. UNC was just 5 for 28 (17.9 percent) from behind the three-point arc in the game and committed 24 turnovers.

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina took a 2-0 lead to start the game before allowing a 10-0 Gator run immediately thereafter.
• After starting 0 for 3 from the floor, Florida got hot and made 6 of its next 7 shots, leading, 16-6, in the early minutes.
• The Tar Heels started 0 for 11 from three-point range and were 3 for 16 in the first half. Meanwhile, the Gators were 7 for 17 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.
• Carolina trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, the sixth game this year it has faced a double-digit deficit.
• RJ Davis scored 10 consecutive points for Carolina during one stretch and had 13 in the first half.

Second Half
• Carolina started the second half with an 11-0 run to cut its deficit to 46-45, the closest it had been since the opening moments.
• UNC eventually led by as many as four points in the second half.
• The Tar Heels outscored the Gators, 50-44, in the second half but didn't score in the final 2:13 of the game.
• Davis passed Phil Ford for third in scoring in UNC career history late in the half.

Notes
• Carolina is 2-1 in the Jumpman Invitational with wins over Michigan in 2022-23 and Oklahoma in 2023-24 prior to the matchup with the Gators.
• UNC is 168-28 in Charlotte, including 18-3 in the Spectrum Center
• Tuesday was the first meeting between the Tar Heels and Gators in over 10 years, since a November 28, 2014, Carolina win in The Bahamas.
• Carolina is 4-3 all-time against the Gators.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will play their final game before Christmas on Saturday when they meet UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in New York City's Madison Square Garden on Saturday December 21 at 3 p.m.