Florida Gators
Eastern Kentucky
Gators Pound EKU, 109-63
Wednesday, December 31, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Five Gators scored in double figures en route to an impressive 109-63 victory over Eastern Kentucky Saturday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida now has won 42 of the last 43 games at home versus non conference opponents and are 28-3 under head coach Billy Donovan during winter break games.
Sophomore Anthony Roberson led with a game-high 22 points, his third 20 point game this season and the ninth of his career. Sophomore Christian Drejer was close behind with 17 points on 60 percent shooting, and sophomore Matt Walsh scored 15 points in 21 minutes. Senior Bonell Colas posted 12 points while shooting 71.4 percent from the field. Freshman Lee Humphrey scored a career-high 11 points and canned three shots from downtown.
UF shot 64.6 percent from the field, the second best effort this season, and shot a season-high 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Gators canned 11 treys, the 77th time under Donovan UF has made 10-plus three-pointers.
Florida got off to a good start, scoring the first six points of the evening. Eastern Kentucky hung in there with only a three point deficit, 18-15, with 13 minutes left in the first half before Florida went on a 15-2 run with less than six minutes remaining. Roberson scored 20 points in 13 minutes in the first stanza. The Gators shot a blistering 71.4 percent from the field in the first half, including 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from two-point range. Florida was strong on the perimeter as well, shooing 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from three-point land. UF headed into the locker room with 65 points, 30 more than Eastern Kentucky.
The Gators continued to dominate in the second half after putting together a 14-0 run to build a 42-point lead (84-42) over the Colonels. EKU's Austin Newton broke UF's run with a layup and fueled a 6-0 run for Eastern Kentucky. Florida's defense went into overdrive as they held Eastern Kentucky without a field goal for 6:25. Colas scored the 100th point for the Gators after converting on a three-point play.
UF returns to the hardwood Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004 to face intrastate rival Florida State. Tipoff is schedule for 1 p.m. at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
