Florida Gators
Coastal Carolina
Men's Basketball Defeats Coastal Carolina 88-45
Monday, November 25, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Freshman Anthony Roberson scored a team-high 26 points as the University of Florida men's basketball team defeated Coastal Carolina 88-45, in a tune-up for the Preseason NIT final four, Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
"I think coming out, our main focus was playing with great energy, because obviously we have had a lot of games in a short period of time," head coach Billy Donovan said. "We have only had a day in between to prepare and we haven't been able to practice as much as I would like to in some areas we need to improve on.
The Gators outrebounded the Chanticleers 40-21, including a dominating 19-4 advantage in the second half. Freshman center Mario Boggan led Florida on the boards, grabbing eight rebounds and sophomore center David Lee grabbed seven rebounds.
"One of the things that we talked about with Coastal Carolina was their ability to rebound offensively and our ability to guard them off the dribble," Donovan said. "I thought tonight we were pretty good in those areas. I was very impressed, and a lot more pleased with our rebounding in the second half."
Florida's freshmen accounted for 66 of the Gators 88 points. Roberson shot 7-for-14 from the field and hit 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Freshman Matt Walsh added 19 points (7-for-10) and had five steals. Today's performance marks the third consecutive game Walsh has scored in double figures. Freshman forward Adrian Moss scored nine points and Boggan added eight.
In the first half, Florida held Coastal Carolina to just 17 points (8-for-28) and the Chanticleers did not break 20 until the 17:07 mark in the second half. Roberson and Walsh went into the locker room at the half with 15 points apiece.
The Gators went on to force 23 Coastal Carolina turnovers, converting them into 29 Florida points.
Tonight's contest marks the first time since December 23, 2000, that the Gators held an opponent to under 50 points.
Florida will travel to Madison Square in New York to take on Stanford in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
