Florida Gators
UCF
Donovan Gets 200th Win, Gators Move To 7-0 With 80-47 Victory Over UCF
Saturday, December 3, 2005 | Men's Basketball
The No. 11 Florida men's basketball team continued its best start in 20 years with an 80-47 win over Central Florida on Saturday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center to improve to 7-0 on the season. The victory marked Billy Donovan's 200th win (200-92) in his 10th year as the Gator head coach. Donovan reached the plateau quicker than any Florida basketball coach in school history, as Norm Sloan picked up his 200th triumph in 372 games.
Sophomore Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.) surpassed the 15-point mark against the Golden Knights for the fifth time in seven games this season. Brewer led all scorers with a career-high 25 points in 10-for-14 shooting from the field, and also added a game-high five steals and seven rebounds to the effort.
Although the Gators never trailed in the game, UCF's offense kept the Golden Knights within range, closing the gap to five points at the 6:51 mark of the first half, 20-15. UCF had trailed in the opening half by as many as 12 points. However, UF answered with an 11-2 run to take a 36-23 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Florida came out of the break on fire and started the second half with a 14-0 burst, which didn't end until the 15:35 mark, to increase the margin to 50-26. Brewer went on to score 11 of his 15 second-half points over the next six minutes of the game, as the Gators went on to win the contest with a final score of 80-47.
Sophomore Al Horford (Puerto Plata, D.R.) scored a career-high 17 points, notched four steals to tie his career-high and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) scored 13 points and passed out five assists, while junior guard Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) chipped in nine points on 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to stand alone in third in the all-time Gator record book for consecutive free throws made with 27. Green's effort, part of his seven-point total for the day, puts him just four free-throws behind Dan Cross, who occupies the second-place spot on the list. Green also dished out a game-high nine assists and hauled down two rebounds.
UF shot 52.5 percent from the field for the game, compared to UCF's 41.9 percent. Florida also took advantage of the Knights' 19 turnovers, scoring 34 points. The Gators outscored Central Florida from three-point range, with 6-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc, compared to UCF's 2-for-8 effort.
UF returns to the court on Tuesday night in a match-up against Coach Donovan's alma mater, Providence, at the Dunkin Donuts Center in the Ocean State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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