Florida Gators Outlast Iona 79-74; Advance to Second Round of NIT

The Florida Gators earned a first round win in the NIT with a 79-74 victory over the Iona Gaels on Wednesday night.

The Florida Gators bested the Iona Gaels in round one of the NIT on Wednesday night, 79-74.

Being outclassed on the defensive end by Iona's highly efficient offense, utilizing backdoor cuts to exploit the pockets when Florida went into zone, the Gators struggled to find a substantial rhythm to make a run to overtake the lead. 

They trailed for more than 30 minutes to begin the game as a result.

However, switching from man to zone defenses consistently in the first half, interim head coach Al Pinkins entered a late half timeout looking for an answer to halt a classic well-operating Rick Pitino offense. He asked the team what they thought they should run defensively for the rest of the game.

They told him to run "one," also known as their man-to-man. Pinkins listened, as Florida stayed in their man defense for a large portion of the final 20 minutes, and the decision paid dividends. Florida began to force turnovers and the momentum began to turn in their favor.

Showing the trust in his veteran team to make that decision ultimately resulted in a win in his first-ever head coaching experience.

"It was great. Best feeling I had in a long time," he said.

Despite being led by center Colin Castleton and Phlandrous Fleming Jr., the two steady presences in the lineup for Florida all season, the Gators saw a plethora of guys step up in their own way to make an impact on the game.

Castleton, who tallied his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, commanded his will in the paint on each end. Fleming's two-way efforts, pairing 18 points with two steals and two blocks, made an evident impact. 

Tyree Appleby bounced back to midseason form with 14 points and five assists.

Brandon McKissic has another string outing as a defender and facilitator despite being held scoreless. He consistently disrupted passing lanes and applied heavy pressure to ball handlers, forcing multiple turnovers throughout the game. 

Myreon Jones connected on a huge triple in the second half.

However, arguably no performance was bigger than that of a true freshman, who is staking his claim as a rising star in orange and blue.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. pieced together a second promising performance in a row, following up a career-high outing in his 21-point SEC tournament game with 14 against the Gaels. Continuing to produce as a spot-up shooter from beyond the arc, Reeves kickstarted the Gators late in the first half to begin climbing back from their largest deficit (8).

However, flashing previously unforeseen explosiveness off the dribble, Reeves was a dangerous option for Florida to utilize on the offensive end.

"He has that pro drive, he’s a worker," Fleming said about the true freshman postgame. "I think that’s going to set him apart from a lot of people. He’s open to learning everything from us, from coaches, from anybody. He’s very open and he’s very humble. He’s a pro. I am so proud of who he’s become."

Going forward, Reeves will likely be the main building block in place for the next head coach to construct a team around, a testament to his progression this season.

Those contributions across the board provided Florida the spark they needed to overcome an Iona team that has hung with SEC teams — and even beat Alabama — this season.

As a result, Florida advances.

The Gators will be in action again on Sunday at 1 pm, traveling to Xavier for round two of the NIT.

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