St. Joseph's can't hold off Florida

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Phil Martelli had modest goals before St. Joseph's Mohegan Sun Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament game against Florida on Saturday.

"Our goal was 75 percent from the foul line and our goal was 75 points," the Hawks coach said. "If we get to those two numbers today I think we're in the winner's circle."

The Hawks fell short of each goal.

Not only did the Gators outlast the Hawks, 74-63, but St. Joseph's shot a modest 70 percent (14 for 20) from the free-throw line in a semifinal of the tourney's Naismith bracket.

Purdue routed Old Dominion, 61-39, in the other semifinal. The Hawks will play the Monarchs on Sunday at noon in a consolation game.

James Demery led the Hawks (3-1) with a career-high 17 points, while Isaiah Miles added 16. Kasey Hill and Dorian Finney-Smith paced the Gators (3-0) with 13 points apiece.

One of the keys to Florida's victory was holding DeAndre' Bembry to 10 points - five below his career average - and only two in the second half.

"We need the very best DeAndre' that we can have, and we need the very best Aaron Brown [one point]," Martelli said. "The number with DeAndre' is the turnovers. He can't have four turnovers. He's too gifted with the ball."

Overall, the Hawks were guilty of 14 turnovers, which the Gators converted into 19 points.

Demery's free throw with 3 minutes, 27 seconds left pulled the Hawks into a 62-62 tie. But the Gators clamped down on defense, held the Hawks to zero baskets, and went on a 12-1 run to break open what was a close game.

"Their length impacted us," Martelli said. "I have to do more for our players and give them more space with a pretty extensive playbook. But we didn't execute everything exactly the way you would on the practice floor."

The Hawks built first-half leads as large as seven and nine points. But four turnovers in the last six minutes enabled the Gators to grab a 34-33 lead at intermission - with Chris Chiozza burying a three-pointer at the buzzer.

"It's November," Martelli said. "The season didn't end today."