Florida Gators
Vanderbilt
Sunday, January 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball
With a golden opportunity to separate itself from the field in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division, Florida couldn't withstand a second half barrage from Vanderbilt, falling to the Commodores, 86-72, before a Memorial Gym capacity crowd of 14,168 Saturday night.
Matt Freije scored 23 points, Mario Moore added 21 and No. 23 Vanderbilt trailed 32-31 at halftime, but outscored the Gators 55-40 in a hot-shooting second half.
The Gators (11-3, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) came in with a six-game winning streak and were looking to start SEC play 3-0 for the third consecutive year. They had every reason to be confident, too, because they had won five straight against the Commodores.
But Vanderbilt (13-2, 2-2) apparently just needed to return home, where its first sellout crowd of the season was waiting. The Commodores kept the Gators from becoming too comfortable in a gym where they had won three straight.
Vanderbilt fans poured onto the court after the final buzzer and even shredded an alligator doll in celebration. Florida coach Billy Donovan said his young Gators must learn how to play on the road.
"It was a great crowd because Vanderbilt played great," Donovan said. "They gave them something to cheer about for 40 minutes."
Moore made five of six 3-pointers as Vandy hit 10 of 15 3s and forced Florida into a season-high 24 turnovers, which the Commodores turned into easy layups and dunks. Vandy committed only five of its 13 turnovers in the second half and outshot the Gators 52.7 percent (29-of-55) to 51.2 percent (22-of-43).
Matt Walsh led the Gators with 16 points, followed by David Lee with 15.
Florida led 40-34 when Vandy took control for good with an 18-4 run started by Freije's three-point play.
Then Corey Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers from the left corner, then stole the ball and passed to Moore, who was fouled and hit both free throws for a 45-44 lead -- Vandy's first lead since 29-28 in the first half.
Smith came up with another steal, and Russell Lakey finished the fast break with a layup. Smith scored again with a three-point play, and Dawid Przybyszewski's one-hander capped the spurt for a 52-44 lead with 12:20 left.
Vanderbilt eventually led by as many as 19 points, 81-62, on a pair of free throws by Freije with 2:25 to go.
Freije scored seven in an 11-0 run, including a pair of 3s, and Moore's 3-pointer put Vanderbilt up 29-20 with 4:57 remaining in the first half. The Gators rallied for a 32-31 lead with their own 11-0 spurt.
Anthony Roberson finished with 13 points for Florida, and Chris Richard had 12.
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