Florida Gators
New Orleans
Men's Hoops Rebounds With 77-48 Non-Conference Win
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Matt Bonner scored a team-high 24 points as the Florida Gators defeated New Orleans 77-48 Monday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Florida tied the school record with their 18th straight home win.
"I think our guys came out very hard. I thought we played unselfishly. I thought, offensively, we
executed a lot better," Donovan said. "I think both [Matt Bonner and Matt Walsh] played very well. Certainly, Matt Bonner was phenomenal in the first half."
"I had a chance to play a lot of people, and different combinations. I think it was good win for out basketball team. I was pretty pleased with the way they came back following Saturday's game and the intensity level at which they played with."
Bonner finished the first half with 22 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from three point range. Bonner outscored New Orleans 22-19 in the first half, marking the third time in his career he has scored 20 or more points in a half.
"In the first half, I would love to take all the credit but I was just hitting open shots. There is not much to
that except to be able to shoot," Bonner said. "I think my teammates did a great job finding me in transition and setting the screens. Coach Donovan set up some plays for me and I got some touches and I was scoring early and I just capitalized on it."
The Gators also set a new school record with 12 non-conference wins.
The Privateers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half, but the Gators responded with an 13-0 run with Bonner scoring 11 of the points. The Gators finished the half on a 9-0 run, as Bonner nailed two three's and Matt Walsh hit one from behind the arc to go into the locker room up 42-19. Florida held New Orleans to 7-of-24 (29.2) from the field and the Florida defense held Hector Romero to only three points and two rebounds in the first half. Last season, Romero scored 29 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for the Privateers.
"I thought that our front court did a good job on [Hector] Romero considering what he did to us last year in the front court- he had 29 points and 19 rebound," Donovan said.
In the second half, the Gators picked up where they left off as they scored the first basket on a three-pointer from Matt Walsh. Senior guard Brett Nelson hit back-to-back three pointers to give Florida a 58-25 lead with 13 minutes left to play.
Walsh finished the game with 12 points, shooting 2-of-3 from three point range, and also added a team-high four assists. Tonight's performance marks the 14th time Walsh has scored in double figures this season.
Sophomore David Lee finished the game contributing six points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Junior Bonnell Colas had eight for the Gators and freshman Christian Drejer added seven (3-of-4 from the field).
New Orleans finished the game shooting only 26.8 percent from the field, the fourth lowest opponent average in school history. Romero finished the game with 15 points for New Orleans, shooting 3-of-11 from the field. Johnell Smith also added 14 points (6-of-7 from the field) for the Privateers.
The Gators will travel to Vanderbilt Saturday, Feb. 22 for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
