Florida Gators
Tulane
Gator Men Hand Tulane 81-65 Loss
Sunday, December 2, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Matt Bonner helped offset the loss of Haslem. He scored the first six Gator points as Florida took an early 8-1 lead and he had 10 points by halftime. Bonner finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, both team highs.
Haslem, who picked up two quick fouls in the first two minutes of the game, made up for lost time in the second half. He scored seven of the Gators first 16 points after the half as Florida built a 53-36 lead.
"He came out roaring in the second half," said head coach Billy Donovan. "Udonis was a man in the second half, he deserved and should have gotten more touches."
Haslem was 6-for-6 from the field and finished with 13 points.
Bonell Colas' slam dunk with just over eight minutes to go gave the Gators a 21-point lead, 67-46, but Tulane rallied to cut that lead to 12 at 73-61. Brett Nelson teamed up with Bonner on back-to-back baskets to put the Gators back up by 16 points. Nelson closed out the game with four consecutive free throws and finished with 12 points. James White chipped in 12 points, as four Gators scored in double figures.
The Gators made a living in the paint, making 31-of-44 shots in close but missed 18-of-21 three-point attempts. Donovan attributed that to too many quick three-point shots.
"Our guys have got to understand to take what the defense gives them," Donovan said. "The way that Tulane was playing, the front court was open and the ball needed to go inside. We needed to punish them up front and we didn't."
Florida now sports a 4-1 record. Tulane suffered its first loss in five games. The Gators will host Michigan State Wednesday night, Dec. 5 in the O'Connell Center. The Spartans beat the Gators 99-83 in last year's meeting.
