Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Florida Gators men’s basketball team played valiant defense against a valorous foe, but offensive struggles doomed them to defeat.
In their penultimate game of the 2010s, the Gators played the same song and seemingly its 50th chorus, going cold late and falling to Utah State, 65-62, in the Orange Bowl Classic.
Kerry Blackshear was just the latest Florida frontman to put together a bravura performance in a loss. His line — 22 points on 3-for-14 shooting from the field and 15-for-17 shooting from the free-throw line, with 14 rebounds, two assists, and two steals to go with them — was indicative of just how tough it was for the Gators to score all day against a lanky band of Aggies that both collapsed to the bucket and closed out on shooters.