Florida Gators
Tennessee
Gator Men's Hoops Wins Shootout At Tennessee, 84-73
Sunday, February 13, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Matt Walsh scored 23 points and David Lee added 21 as the Florida men's basketball team picked up its first win in Knoxville since 2002, posting an 84-73 victory over Tennessee on Saturday.
The Gators (15-6, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed by three early in the second half when Lee hit a basket and Walsh followed with a three-point play to give Florida a 54-52 lead with 12:37 left.
Tennessee (11-13, 4-7) tied it at 60 on C.J. Watson's 3 and went ahead 65-64 after Major Wingate converted a three-point play with 7:42 remaining. But Anthony Roberson scored and Lee sank a pair of free throws to put Florida back up by three. This time, the Vols couldn't rally.
Walsh and Lee combined to score the next 11 points for Florida as the Gators pulled away.
Roberson finished with 16 points, Lee added 12 rebounds and Corey Brewer had 10 rebounds for Florida, which avenged an 83-76 loss in overtime to the Vols on Jan. 19 in Gainesville and won for the first time in Knoxville since 2002.
Brandon Crump, who was 7-of-9 from the field, finished with 16 points for Tennessee. Watson added 15 and Scooter McFadgon had 10. The Vols lost despite shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the floor for the game, partly because they were out-rebounded 39-28.
Tennessee used a 12-2 run at the beginning of the second half to take a 50-47 lead. McFadgon scored six points during the spurt.
Florida led by as many as six in the first half as Tennessee went 4 1/2 minutes without a field goal. The Gators were up 41-36 at halftime.
Florida returns to action on Wednesday when Ole Miss comes to the O'Connell Center for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast on Sunshine on a tape-delayed basis.
