Florida begins rivalry week up 2-0 on FSU

Florida Gators swimming & diving got the first crack at the Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, topping them 169-131 while being led by seniors Shaune Fraser and Omar Pinzon and junior Conor Dwyer. Basketball’s victory just a few hours later in the same building was more of a beat down, as junior forward Alex Tyus and his teammates routed their rivals 68-52.

Tyus, with a solid 13-point and eight-rebound performance, led the Gators (4-0) to their first win over the Seminoles (3-1) in the last four meetings. Matching Tyus with 13 points were freshman guard Kenny Boynton and sophomore point guard Erving Walker, both of whom were able to contribute in spite of poor shooting performances. Junior F Chandler Parsons followed Tyus’ team-high eight rebounds with seven of his own, also adding three assists, two steals and eight points to the box score. Senior F Dan Werner was on the court a team-high 33 minutes, going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc (his only two shots) to finish with six points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Florida dominated the first half, perhaps their best performance in over a year, pressuring Florida State on defense, standing strong in the paint and hitting the boards hard. The Seminoles turned the ball over 16 times in the first 20 minutes, trailing 39-19 going into the locker rooms. Started the second half on a 19-2 run, they quickly brought the Gators lead down to four. It was not until a charge drawn by Werner roused the crowd and sparked the resurgence of the defense that Florida would overcome the attack, scoring 12 straight points to go back up 55-38. The Gators would maintain a double-digit lead through the rest of the game.

Florida takes on the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans on Friday at 8 p.m. in Atlantic City, NJ, as part of the Legends Classic. The game will air on Sun Sports and marks the highest ranked opponent the Gators have faced since the 2006-07 season. The Gators will look for the three-match sweep of the Seminoles when the football team takes them on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in The Swamp.