Florida Gators
Tennessee-Chattanooga
Humphrey Scores 15 in Gators' Win Over Chattanooga
Sunday, November 19, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Senior Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) nailed five 3-pointers on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc to lead the No. 1 Florida Gators (4-0, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) to a 93-44 victory over the Chattanooga Mocs (1-2, 0-0 Southern Conference) Saturday night in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
With the win, Florida improved its winning streak to 15 games and claimed its 24th-consecutve victory over non-conference opponents.
Humphrey led all players with a season-high 15 points, while juniors Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.) and Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) also scored in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Green notched a game-high five assists, and junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) and freshman Mareese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) each tallied a team-high six rebounds in the win.
Florida dominated the game from the very beginning, and found itself up 23-16 midway through the first half. Florida's defense held Chattanooga scoreless until 16:27 in the opening period, and did not allow a Moc basket in the last 7:57 of the half. Humphrey hit his first three shots from 3-point range in the opening 11 minutes, and entered the second half with nine points under his belt.
The Gators led off the second half with a season-high 23-0 run from 19:02 to 11:45.
Junior Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) recorded his first points of the game midway through the half, and followed with seven points in the next five minutes. Horford's dunk with 6:29 left to play gave Florida a 74-33 advantage before its bench closed the game on a 19-11 run.
Florida's bench ended the game with 39 points, with sophomore Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) leading the reserves with eight points.
Despite being out-rebounded 19-16 in the first half, Florida came back and controlled the boards in the second half, 19-15, to lead the category 35-31. The Gators scored 41 points off the Mocs' 26 turnovers, and shot 54 percent to the opponent's 38 percent from the field.
Nine different players made Florida's 14 treys on the night, and Hodge trailed Humphrey with two from 3-point range.
Nicchaeus Doaks tallied a team-high 11 points for the Mocs, and Casey Long led both teams with seven rebounds. Casey also notched a team-high five assists.
Florida will return to action Tuesday evening with a non-conference contest against Prairie View A&M. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the O'Connell Center.
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