No. 19 Gators pound Bulldogs 70-48 at home

By Adam Silverstein
January 10, 2012

Looking to rebound from a double-digit upset loss to Tennesee on the road last Saturday, the No. 19 Florida Gators (13-4, 1-1 SEC) put their collective foot to the pedal at home against the Georgia Bulldogs (9-7, 0-2 SEC), routing their border rivals 70-48 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday.

Breaking out of a four-game funk, freshman guard Bradley Beal led the Gators with a double-double of 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting (4-of-6 from downtown) and 10 rebounds. Junior G Kenny Boynton matched him with 17 points of his own and was equally efficient, hitting 5-of-8 shots from the field and all five of his free throws.

If intensity and aggression were what Florida was missing over the weekend, the Gators found those characteristics early in the game, jumping out to a 7-0 lead capped by Beal’s first three-pointer of the game. Georgia started 1-for-10 from the floor, but the Bulldogs eventually found their touch, scoring six-straight to reduce UF’s advantage to two.

That is when Florida broke out. Redshirt junior G Mike Rosario scored seven-straight points for the Gators and Beal added a trio of treys as part of a 22-4 run that gave UF a 20-point lead. UGA, however, took an 8-2 scoring stretch into the break to reduce their deficit to 14 points heading into the locker rooms.

Though Beal was strong for Florida in the opening half – hitting 4-of-5 shots from beyond the arc – the rest of the team took a while to get going, starting 0-for-6 from downtown.

The Gators extended their lead to 25 points early in the second half until an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs cut Florida’s advantage back down to 13 points with 7:02 left in the game.

Georgia kept the pressure on for a bit, but UF quickly got back to form, draining threes and playing quality defense. The Gators held the Bulldogs to just 48 points on the evening, a season-low for Florida’s defense.

UF has now defeated UGA in 10-straight games played in the O’Dome.

[EXPAND Click to expand and read the rest of the Florida-Georgia game story.]Boynton, who hit a pair of treys in the contest, moved into a tie for second on Florida’s all-time list of consecutive games with a three-pointer (Brett Nelson, 33). Gators sophomore center Patric Young got plenty of looks but scored just eight points to go along with a game-high 10 boards, which Beal also achieved.

Florida junior forward Erik Murphy was an uncharacteristic 0-for-4 from beyond the arc but notched two blocks in the contest and now has 13 over the last five games.

UF was once again outrebounded 34-33 by UGA, which had 14 takes via the offensive glass. The Gators only had eight assists on 24 baskets but turned the ball over just six times on the evening. Florida also shot 50 percent from the field (24-of-48) and 83.3 percent from the line (15-of-18).

Coming off a game in which their bench scored just one point, the Gators’ reserves posted 16 on Tuesday. Florida also maintained a lead the entire contest.

The Gators will look to keep their positive momentum going as they head back on the road to face South Carolina on Saturday at 7 p.m.. Florida is 0-4 in true road games this season and will look to earn their first victory live on Comcast Sports South.[/EXPAND]

3 Comments

  1. Ken (CA) says:

    Finally asserting themselves although against another bad team…

    The announcer said at one point “Walker takes a pullup three….didn’t need that one…but with the big lead, no harm done”

    I hope Billy D doesn’t see it that way and chews him out…again…for bad decisions..

  2. Eli says:

    Agree with Dykes that Pat Young needs more touches on offense. Especially with good position, he’s close to unstoppable. Also a great passer out of the low post.

    Also, I think we all saw tonight (in the first half) that Brad Beal is capable of being a legitimate game-changer. If we get performances like that more often, we’re going to be a tough squad in the SEC.

  3. jay d says:

    we need to improve on shot selection and game situational awareness if we are going to do anything amazing this year….just because the gators have a lead ……..it does not give players a free pass to start jacking up random shots….walker is a good player…I think he is trying a bit too hard to fit the mold that donovan has sculpted for him…he needs to let the game come to him and go off instinct….he is a senior….walker is what he is…might as well play to his strengths….

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