Florida Gators
Rutgers
Men's Basketball Topples Rutgers, 88-63, to Close Out Blue Ribbon Challenge
Sunday, November 18, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Gainesville, Fla. – Florida men's basketball head coach Billy Donovan achieved his 300th career win with an 88-63 victory over Rutgers in the final game of the Blue Ribbon Challenge Saturday night. The triumph also marked the 23rd straight victory for the Gators at the O'Connell Center, extending the school record previously held at 20 games.
The Gators were given their first true test of the season and came out victorious with the help of sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.), who led Florida with 18 points while shooting 9-15 from the floor. Speights was aggressive above the rim, garnering 12 rebounds to lead the Orange and Blue.
The Gators spread the ball around with all five of its starters scoring double digits.
Freshman guard Jai Lucas (Bellaire, Texas) scored a career-high 15 points and led the Gators with five assists. Sophomore forward Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) also set two new career-highs, registering a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights proved themselves to be one of the Gators' toughest foes thus far.
Florida proved once again to be proficient beyond the arc, hitting on 11 treys during the game, four contributed by junior guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) and three chipped in by Lucas.
The game remained neck-and-neck throughout the majority of the first half until the Gators began to pull away in the closing minutes with back-to-back three pointers from Lucas and Hodge in the final minute of the half.
UF had its largest lead of the half going into the locker room with a 15-point advantage, 48-33.
Florida finished the Blue Ribbon Challenge with four consecutive wins to open up the season. The Gators hit the hardwood again in three days, playing host to North Florida at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
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