Florida fends off late Seton Hall rally to earn matchup with Gonzaga

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- KeVaughn Allen scored 21 points and Canyon Barry added 20 off the bench as Florida beat Seton Hall 81-76 in a first-round game at the AdvoCare Invitational on Thursday night.

Allen had a layup and Barry hit a 3 to make it 69-61 with 5 minutes to play. After Khadeen Carrington's 3-point play got Seton Hall within two with 2 minutes remaining, Allen made a layup to put Florida up 75-71.

The Gators secured it by making 6 of 8 free throws during the final minute of play.

Florida (5-0) also got 14 points from Chris Chiozza.

Carrington had 28 points and Myles Powell 16 for Seton Hall (3-1).

In a matchup of teams that both received votes in this week's AP poll, Seton Hall took a 40-39 halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

Seton Hall: The Pirates were coming off a 91-83 win over Iowa last Thursday and looking for a second consecutive victory over a Power-5 conference opponent.

Florida: The Gators are playing nine neutral site games and two road games to start the season while the O'Connell Center in Gainesville goes through a $64.5 million renovation project that will be completed in time for a game on Dec. 21 against Little Rock.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: The Pirates will face Quinnipiac in a consolation round game Friday night.

Florida: The Gators will look to make a case for Top-25 consideration with a semifinal game Friday night against No. 11 Gonzaga.