Florida Gators
New Orleans
UF Men Hoops Defeats New Orleans 76-60
Saturday, December 22, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Matt Bonner, who had scored 10 or more points in each of the Gators' first nine games, was held to just six by New Orleans. Bonner made just 1-of-8 field goal attempts overall and had no points in the first half. Brett Nelson scored ten points, but he was just 4 of 11 shooting. Justin Hamilton had nine points, but he was just one of eight from beyond the arc. The Gators shot just 39 percent.
"We were fortunate to win," Gator coach Billy Donovan said. "They outperformed and outplayed us. It wasn't the prettiest game we've played, but you've got to give New Orleans credit. They played an inspired game."
Because of the shooting struggles, the Gators needed a big game from senior center Udonis Haslem and they got it. Haslem scored 20 points with half of them coming from the free throw line. He scored 12 points in the first half as the Gators built a 41-31 lead at intermission.
Donovan wasn't pleased with his team's failure to get the ball inside against New Orleans.
"The ball needed to go inside a little bit more to Udonis, Matt, David (Lee) and Bonell (Colas)," Donovan said. "We took 27 three-point shots and I thought, alot of them, we got baited into."
The Gators finished with just 5-of-27 from the three-point line.
The Gators also had difficulty in controlling Privateer's big man Hector Romero, who finished with a game-high 29 points and 19 rebounds.
Haslem and Nelson were the only Gators to score in double figures. Hamilton and James White each scored nine points. David Lee, who finished with eight points, got two more dunks. The freshman from St. Louis now has a team-leading 13 dunks on the season.
The Gators have won eight in a row, which ties for third longest in school history. Florida will play Stetson on Friday, Dec. 28, a rare weekday afternoon game in the O'Connell Center. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET.
