Florida Gators
Syracuse
No. 18 Florida Edged, 89-83, by Syracuse in Kansas City
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Sophomore forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) led the Gators in scoring with a career-high 24 points against Syracuse in the O Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., but No. 18 Florida was edged, 89-83, by the Orange in semifinals of the tournament Monday. Florida moves to 3-1 overall on the young season, while Syracuse improves to 4-0.
Gator sophomore Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.) chipped in a season-high 19 points for UF, while the UF defensive force rallied for 12 steals.
Despite stellar performances from Calathes and Tyus, the Gators were outrebounded 40-30 by Syracuse. The Orange also shot 51 percent from the field, while Florida hit 46 percent of its shots.
Tyus finished 11-of-14 from the field, but Syracuse used a 10-2 run early in the second half to go up 56-44. Freshman Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) provided a spark with 1:22 left in the game, sinking a trey to bring the margin to 83-79, but the Gators struggled to capitalize on four-straight missed Orange free throws.
Walker finished the night with a career and season-high 13 points, hitting 5-of-12 from the field to lead the newcomers in the first road match of the season. Calathes dished out a season-high eight assists in the Orange and Blue effort.
UF will be back in action Tuesday in the consolation final of the CBE Classic and will face the loser of the Monday match-up between Kansas and Washington at 7:45 p.m. (ET). The game will be broadcast by ESPNU.
-UF-
