Florida Gators
Manhattan
Gators Fall in NCAA First Round
Thursday, March 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Led by 26 points from guard Luis Flores, 12th-seeded Manhattan defeated fifth-seeded Florida 75-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina
Creating, shooting and scoring from everywhere on the floor, the generously listed 6-foot senior showed why he's the nation's third-leading scorer at 24.1 points per game. With the Jaspers ahead 38-35 early in the second half, he sandwiched two 3-pointers around a sweet, pull-up 16-footer to push the lead to double digits. The first 3 came right after a timeout, on a defensive breakdown by Florida that left Flores wide open.
Florida tried to get back in it, but when Matt Walsh got called for an intentional foul, the Jaspers started an 11-4 run to put the game away. It was capped by Flores' beautiful spin move on the baseline that left him open for a 15-foot jumper he made.
Flores was hardly Manhattan's only star. Peter Mulligan finished with 17 points and Holmes had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Walsh finished with 13 points for the Gators, who are one of just 13 teams to advance to the last six NCAA Tournaments. Anthony Roberson led them with 22 points.
