No. 8/10 Florida Gators basketball had the perfect tune up on Thursday evening, defeating the Division-III Catholic Cardinals 114-57 in an exhibition match at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.
Sporting new uniforms and playing on a redesigned home court, Florida had six players score in double figures in the contest, which saw them lead from start to finish.
Gators junior guard Kenny Boynton posted a double-double and led all players with 21 points and 10 rebounds while hitting 6-of-11 attempts from downtown.
Freshman G Brad Beal (20 points, five assists), redshirt junior transfer G Mike Rosario (18 points, six assists) and senior point guard Erving Walker (15 points, four assists) also shot well from beyond the arc, combining to go 11-for-20.
Sophomores center Patric Young and guard/forward Casey Prather each grabbed a game-high seven rebounds; Young added 10 points and three steals.
Junior F Erik Murphy was 6-of-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from downtown for 17 points, and sophomore F Will Yeguete added nine points on 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. Redshirt freshman F Cody Larson and freshman F Walter Pitchford were the only Florida players unable to score in a combined 22 minutes.
As a team, the Gators shot 57.1 percent from the field (40-of-70), 50 percent from three (20-of-40) and 70 percent from the free throw line (14-of-20). Florida outrebounded Catholic 36-31, led their opponent in steals 16-3 and scored 50 points off turnovers.
Cardinals G Billy Donovan, Jr., Gators head coach Billy Donovan’s son, led Catholic in points (13) and minutes played (27). He received a friendly ovation before the game and when being pulled from the game at the end of the second half.
The Gators will have a week off before officially beginning the 2011-12 season. Florida takes on Jackson State in their regular season opener on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in the O’Connell Center. The game will air live on FOX Sports Florida (check your local listings).
Florida basketball: Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard de...
April 17, 2024
Florida basketball recruiting: Four-star G Alex Lloyd, ...
April 17, 2024
Florida football takeaways: DJ Lagway flashes, Gators w...
April 14, 2024
Florida basketball recruiting: Gators add F Sam Alexis ...
April 13, 2024
Florida basketball recruiting: Gators add C Rueben Chin...
April 18, 2024
Florida basketball: Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard de...
April 17, 2024
Florida basketball recruiting: Four-star G Alex Lloyd, ...
April 17, 2024
Heard it here first: We will absolutely DOMINATE any and all division III schools this year! Mount Union, Ohio Northern, Linnfield, oh and Flagler..don’t think you can hide down there in St. Augustine cause we are coming for you too!
Being serious, we look good and hopefully another ride deep in the tourney is in store this year. Go Gators!
lol!
Listened to the game last night – 2 additional notes:
Glad to hear the crowd cheer loudly for Billy Donovan III and the screamer is back! I wish someone would move her seats so her voice doesn’t overpower the radio commentators.
Gators looked good. But it is Catholic University.
Young is going to be a BEAST this year! Looking forward to the season! Go Gators!
We have several three point shooters this year which makes us a very tough team to beat.
This was a fun game to watch. Of course the competition was less than stellar but the scoring potential is undeniable. A couple of additional observations:
– Versatile roster!
– Even though Larson didn’t score, he still showed a nose for the basketball. He had a number of steals and found himself around a lot of loose balls.
– Patric Young looked good and showed a soft touch around the basketball but he needs to be patient and not rush his moves in the post.
– Casey Prather was another guy who did a lot of little things, highlighted by a nice dunk in traffic. His shot did not look good but we have plenty of shooters.
– Rosario and Beal are top-level shooters, as advertised.
– Murphy looked stronger and did a nice job of utilizing his outside shooting touch while at the same time not camping out on the perimeter the entire game.
Loved the wordplay: “Crusade leads Florida past Catholic”
This was a nice start, but like last year we should all remain unconvinced until the OSU game. They’re going to be MUCH tougher to shoot on because they’re excellent at closing out, and unless Young really lives up to his hype and matches up well with Sullinger, it’s going to be a game that falls on the shoulders of our guards.
Also: Gator nation’s love affair with Brad Beal has officially started. What a beast.
We have 3 SUPERSTAR guards and will play at a ridiculous pace all yer. We will be very dangerous if we get hot from 3 then a close game could quickly turn into a blowout. I can’t wait for the season to start!!