Florida Gators
Providence
Men's Basketball Defeats Providence College 85-67
Thursday, December 7, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Six Gators scored in double figures en route to seventh-ranked Florida's (8-2) 85-67 defeat of Providence College (6-2) on Wednesday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
All five starters reached the double digit mark lead by junior Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic), who posted a double-double with a team-best and career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double on the year and 15th of his career.
Junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) finished second on the team in scoring with 17 points while also contributing six rebounds and three blocks. The starting guards, comprised of senior Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.), junior Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and sophomore Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), combined to score 32 points and provided 10 assists. Humphrey finished with 12 points including two three pointers and a team-best five assists, which tied his career-high. Hodge also drained two shots from beyond the arc.
Senior Chris Richard (Lakeland, Fla.) was the sixth man to score in double figures coming off the bench to post 11 points including a perfect seven-for-seven on free throws.
As a team, the Gators made 88.5 percent (23-for-26) free throws. Green went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and has now made 11 consecutive free throws tying Noah for the most consecutive free throws made by a Gator this season.
With the win, the Gators improve to 4-0 all-time against the Providence Friars, Florida head coach Billy Donovan's alma mater. Donovan is now just two wins shy of becoming Florida's all-time winningest coach. The victory also extends UF's home non-conference winning streak to 20 games, just one win shy of tying the second-best home winning streak against non-conference opponents in school history.
The Gators held a 40-34 lead at the half. Florida quickly scored to open the game as Lee Humphrey took a pass off the tip for a lay-up, but the teams traded baskets early on leading to two ties. With the contest knotted at six a piece, Weyinmi Efejuku gave the Providence the lead at 9-6 making a basket plus a foul shot. Sharaud Curry extended the Friars advantage to its largest margin at 11-7 before Noah answered with a dunk and Humphrey followed up with a three to regain an edge at 12-11. The Gators took control of the game outscoring the Friars 15-6 over the next 8:30 to extend the advantage to 27-18. However, Providence battled back to within two at 31-29. Florida answered the challenge scoring nine points over the final 3:08 of the period to go up 40-31. Curry hit a deep three as the clock ran down giving the game its halftime score. Noah paced Florida in the first period with 10 points including nine that came in the game's first four minutes.
Florida outscored the Friars 10-2 over the opening 4:15 of the second period to build a 14 point advantage at 50-36. In the period, Florida also had a 14-0 run that lasted 4:23. Horford and Noah combined for nine of those 14 points. The Gators biggest lead of the game came with 7:52 remaining when Green made a lay-up making it a 22 point contest at 67-45. Horford dominated the half scoring 15 of his points in the period.
The Friars saw a five game winning streak snap despite the valiant efforts of Efejuku and Geoff McDermott. Efejuku lead the Friars in scoring with 22 points while McDermott finished with a double-double by putting up 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Gators return to the court on Dec. 17 in Tampa, Fla., where they will take on Florida A&M. Tip off is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
