Florida Gators
Jacksonville
Gators Tie Best Start in School History, Defeat Jacksonville 101-58
Sunday, December 18, 2005 | Men's Basketball
The No. 7/6 Florida men's basketball team moved to 10-0 and matched the 1951-52 squad for the best start in school history Sunday with a 101-58 triumph over Jacksonville University at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. With 15 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, sophomore Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.) recorded the first triple-double in school history.
Sophomores Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) and Al Horford (Puerto Plata, D.R.) also contributed double-double efforts against the Dolphins. Noah put up 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Horford shot 9-for-11 from the field to tally 20 points. He pulled down 11 boards.
Although the Gators never trailed past the 19:38 mark in the first half, JU's offense kept the Dolphins within range. The visitors closed the gap to seven points at the 10:49 mark of the first half, 27-20. However, UF answered with a 15-0 run to take a 50-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Out of the break, the two teams traded shots for the first two minutes before Florida started a 23-3 stretch which began at the 17:51 mark and ended when the clock showed 10:07. From that point on, the Orange and Blue controlled the game and went on to win, 101-58.
Junior forward Chris Richard (Lakeland, Fla.) scored 12 points with a 5-for-5 effort from the field and also added four rebounds and two steals in the win. Freshman guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) finished with a game-high three steals against the Dolphins.
Sophomore guard Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) put up 11 points for the Gators, and handed out six assists. With his 2-for-2 effort from the charity stripe, Green moved into the top spot on Florida's consecutive free throws made list with 35. He surpassed Kenyan Weaks, who held the previous record with 33. Aubrey Conerly led Jacksonville with 13 points.
UF shot 55.4 percent from the field for the game, compared to JU's 31.9 percent. Florida also took advantage of the Dolphins' 18 turnovers, scoring 20 points. With the win, the Orange and Blue extended its home winning streak to 13 victories in games at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The Gators also scored over 80 points for the fifth game in a row, and the seventh time during the 2005-06 season.
UF returns to the court on Thursday night in a road swing against Miami. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the BankUnited Center in Miami, Fla.
-UF-
