Florida Gators
Florida A&M
Men's Basketball Cruises Past Florida A&M, 91-52
Thursday, December 6, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Freshman guard Nick Calathes (Winter Park, Fla.), who was two rebounds and one assist shy of a triple-double, finished with 20 points, his third straight game scoring 20 or more points this year.
Calathes finished 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Fellow freshman Adam Allen (Milton, Fla.) added a career- high 19 points for the Gators, and sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Jai Lucas (Houston, Texas) connected on his first four shots from the floor and had 11 points as the Gators improved to 9-0 all-time against Florida A&M.
The Gators (9-1) shot 63 percent from the field and were 12-of-24 from behind the arc.
Florida trailed 5-2 shortly after the tip, but then used a barrage of three-pointers and a 24-0 run to gain an insurmountable advantage.
Junior guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), Allen, Lucas and Calathes each made a shot from behind the arc in the run. Calathes and Allen each added another to push the lead to 36-13 late in the first half.
The Gators opened the final 20 minutes with a 17-0 run, keyed by three consecutive treys from Allen, Lucas and Hodge.
Florida shot 61 percent from the floor in the first half and led 44-20 at the break. The Rattlers, who have lost three in a row, were 7-of-29 from the floor and 3-of-11 from 3-point range.
Larry Jackson and Oliver Prince led Florida A&M with 14 points apiece. The Rattlers (2-6) shot just 29 percent from the floor and were out- manned, 44-27 on the boards.
Florida will next take on Georgia Southern Wednesday, Dec. 19, in Jacksonville. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
