Florida Gators
Toledo
No. 19 Florida Defeats Toledo, 80-58, in Season Opener
Saturday, November 15, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Junior forward Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) and sophomore guard Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.) led the No. 19 Gators to an 80-58 victory over Toledo in UF's season-opener at the O'Connell Center Friday night. Florida won its 18th-consecutive season opener as part of the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, as Werner contributed 19 points and Calathes added 16 points and seven assists.
Improving to 51-6 under head coach Billy Donovan in the month of November, the Florida defense established its presence against the Rockets, forcing four 10-second violations and holding Toledo to 43.8 percent shooting.
Gator sophomore forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) collaborated with Werner and Calathes, contributing 11 points, while senior guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) added 10.
Florida hit seven total shots from behind the arc, including four in row, to spark a 16-2 run that started with about 3:30 to play and spanned until halftime to send UF to the locker room ahead, 39-27, at the half. In his official debut for the Orange and Blue, freshman Allan Chaney (Baltimore, Md.) started the 3-point barrage, finishing the night with six points.
Chaney's freshman counterpart Ray Shipman (Miramar, Fla.) led all freshmen scorers with seven points, hitting 2-of-4 from the field and contributing one trey and two free throws.
The Gators were up 56-31 early in the second half and cruised from there, shooting 53 percent from the floor and hitting 14-of-20 from the charity stripe. Florida was even better on defense, capitalizing on 25 forced Toledo turnovers and finishing with 12 steals.
Jonathan Amos led Toledo with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Florida will be back in action Sunday, Nov. 16, when it hosts Bradley in the second round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Tip is set for 2:15 p.m. from the O'Connell Center and the game will be broadcast by ESPNU.
