Florida Gators
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North Florida
No. 25 Men's Basketball Rolls by North Florida, 102-51
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Gainesville, Fla. - The No. 25 Florida men's basketball team rolled in its first game as a ranked squad as it defeated North Florida, 102-51, Tuesday at the O'Connell Center. The two-time defending national champions remained unbeaten on the season with their fifth victory and extended their winning streak to 15 games while pushing their home winning streak to 24.
Sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds and junior guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) added 14 points to lead another well-balanced attack as all five starters scored in double figures.
Sophomore forward Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Freshman guard Nick Calathes (Winter Park, Fla.) added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Fellow freshmen Chandler Parsons (Winter Park, Fla.) and Jai Lucas (Houston, Texas) added 13 and 11, respectively.
The Gators seized momentum early with a 22-4 run to open the game, were up 50-20 late in the first half and made it 70-24 early in the second half.
The Gators' defense dominated and hit the glass hard, forcing 19 turnovers and finishing with a 48-31 rebounding advantage as North Florida struggled to 31.3 percent shooting from the floor.
The Gators shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the first half and were even better from 3-point range.
Led by Hodge's 3-for-4 shooting, Florida was 8-for-12 from behind the arc. Donovan's team also made 19 of 26 from the free-throw line in the opening half.
The Gators cooled off slightly in the second half, but the Ospreys were never able to muster a rally.
DeVon Jones scored 12 points to lead North Florida, in the midst of its third year on the Division I level.
The Gators take the home court again on Friday at 8 p.m. against in-state rival Florida State. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net.
