Junior guard Taurean Green (Boca Ration, Fla.) led a trio of Florida players in double figures with a team-high 21 points, but it wasn't enough for the fourth-ranked Gators (7-2) to overcome in-state rival Florida State as the Seminoles claimed a 70-66 victory Sunday evening in Tallahassee.
Florida State (5-2) built a 36-31 halftime lead and increased it to 55-41 before sophomore Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) nailed one of his three 3-pointers with 3:02 left in the game to put Florida within three at 62-59. Hodge's shot capped an 18-7 Florida run late in the second half.
Hodge hit another triple from long range to cut FSU's lead to 68-66 with 53.2 seconds left, but the Seminoles' Toney Douglas blocked a 3-point attempt by Green with just four seconds left. Florida State's Al Thornton was fouled as he picked up the loose ball, and he collected a pair from the charity stripe en route to the four-point win.
Overall, Florida out-shot Florida State 53.3 (24-45) to 45.8 percent, and tallied nine assists to FSU's seven.
Hodge finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) notched 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, and junior Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) pulled down a team-high six rebounds while chipping in four points.
Thornton's double-double (28 points, 10 rebounds) led the Seminoles in both categories, and Isaiah Swann added 11 points.
The Gators will return to Gainesville on Wednesday, Dec. 6, for a 7 p.m. contest against head coach Billy Donovan's alma mater, Providence.
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