Finney-Smith leads Gators past Tide

Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) shoots over Alabama guard Justin Coleman (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. Florida won 69-61. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) shoots over Alabama guard Justin Coleman (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. Florida won 69-61. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
photo Florida forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) shoots over Alabama guard Justin Coleman (5) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. Florida won 69-61. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE -- The last time Alabama faced Florida in basketball, the Gators' Dorian Finney-Smith waited until the final seconds of the game to break Crimson Tide hearts, slamming home a game-winning dunk on one end before blocking Bama's potential game-winner on the other end.

In Thursday afternoon's rematch in the second round of the Southeastern Conference men's tournament, the Florida forward decided to torment the Tide throughout, finishing with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators' 69-61 win.

"Just happy to be able to move on," said winning coach Billy Donovan, whose 16-16 team moves on to face top-ranked, undefeated Kentucky today in a 1 p.m. EDT quarterfinal inside Bridgestone Arena. "Our defense was pretty good. We were able to get some stops and did some good things."

Beyond Finney-Smith, rebounding was what the Gators did best, whipping Bama 35-24 on the boards, including 12-3 on the offensive glass. After leading by 33-29 at halftime, the Gators never led by fewer than seven in the final 11 minutes.

"That's one of the things we talked about coming into today was their ability to offensive rebound," said the Tide's Levi Randolph, who tied teammate Jimmie Taylor for scoring honors with 15 points. "They did what they normally do."

And because of that, Florida did what it normally does, which is advance past the first round. The Gators haven't lost a first-round SEC tourney game since 2008. They've played in three finals since then, winning it all last season.

"When (Dorian's) playing like that, he's a real matchup problem," Donovan explained. "He's so smart you can move him around to different positions. We played him tonight at small forward some, played him at the power forward spot. We even played him at center."

Now Finney-Smith will get a chance to play Kentucky for the second time in a week, the Gators having lost 67-50 to UK last Saturday.

Said Donovan of facing the Wildcats: "We're the only team so far that will have played them three times. So at least there's some familiarity. We're just excited for the opportunity to play again."

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com

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