Australia's Gorjok Gak, with two big dunks, has helped power the University of Florida to a 80-65 first round NCAA Tournament victory over East Tennessee State.
The fourth-seeded Gators led 13th-seeded East Tennessee 33-32 at halftime at Orlando's Amway Center but with 211cm-tall Gak providing a burst of energy off the bench Florida asserted their dominance in the second half.
Florida forward Devin Robinson led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds.
Florida will play Virginia, a fifth seed, in the second round this weekend.
The news was not so good for Wollongong's Xavier Cooks.
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Cooks scored a game-high 23 points for Winthrop University in their tournament opener but it was not enough to give his team the victory over Butler University and avoid elimination.
Butler won 76-64.
Winthrop, seeded 13th, were huge underdogs against fourth-seeded Butler in Milwaukee.
Cooks, a slashing 203cm-tall guard/forward, also had six rebounds and two assists in his impressive outing in the tournament that dominates the US sporting landscape in March and early April.
The three-week knockout tournament features a large contingent of young Australian players.
St Mary's, featuring seven Australians, play Virginia Commonwealth University while Arizona take on North Dakota later on Thursday (Friday AEDT).
