Back to the Florida Gators Newsfeed

Gators breeze past Mercer for second win

With 0.6 seconds left in the first half, Florida guard KeVaughn Allen stood behind the backboard and lobbed an out-of-bounds pass to forward Kevarrius Hayes.

Surrounded by Mercer defenders, Hayes leapt, caught and shot before the ball rattled into the rim, capping an 18-2 UF run.

The Bears jogged back to their locker room — saved by the buzzer.

The Gators' (2-0) first-half ensemble of three-point plays and deep jump shots lifted them to a 76-54 win over Mercer (1-1) Sunday night in Jacksonville.

Despite a shaky 36-percent shooting performance for Florida, the buckets came in bunches for forward Justin Leon, who hit three threes and notched a career-high 17 points.