Florida beats Ohio State, 74-66, in second round

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Dorian Finney-Smith had 16 point and 12 rebounds Sunday to help No. 2 seed Florida beat third-seeded Ohio State 74-66 in the second round of the NIT.

Kasey Hill added 15 points, Kevarrius Hayes scored 14 and Justin Leon 12. The Gators (21-14) opened the second half with a 16-4 run to lead 47-34 and then held on in the final 4:34 after the Buckeyes (21-14) narrowed the gap to seven.

Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer with 1:35 left made it 68-58 and the Gators made all six of their free throws from there. Florida advanced to the quarterfinals to face Monday’s Monmouth-George Washington winner on Wednesday.

Florida led the entire way after starting on a 9-0 run. Ohio State closed the first half with a 9-0 run to get within 31-30 but got no closer.

Marc Loving had 20 points, JaQuan Lyle scored 19 and Daniel Giddens added 11 for the Buckeyes.