Florida Gators
Arkansas
Walker's 27 Points Lead UF Over Arkansas, 71-66
Friday, January 22, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Florida sophomore guard Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a career-high 27 points and junior forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied his eighth career double-double as the Gators topped Arkansas, 71-66, Thursday evening at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Walker hit 7-of-12 shots from the field, including 5-of-6 from three-point territory, and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Tyus tallied 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Florida's (13-5, 2-2 SEC) winning efforts. In addition to Walker and Tyus' double-digit scoring efforts, freshman guard Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) contributed 13 points to Florida's overall efforts against the Razorbacks (8-10, 1-2 SEC), and junior Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.) pulled down 11 rebounds for the Orange and Blue.
Fifteen of Walker's 27 points came in the first half of play, as he was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Walker's momentum boost lifted UF to a 28-26 advantage heading into the locker room at the half.
Florida hit .808 from the charity stripe (21-of-26) and the Gators went on a 9-0 run late in the second half to pull away for the win over the Razorbacks. Florida shot only 36 percent from the field, but hurt Arkansas on the boards, pulling 42 rebounds to the Razorbacks' 29. The Gators had 12 second-chance points, all in the second half.
Rotnei Clarke scored 17 points for Arkansas and made three treys during the second half. The last one put the Razorbacks ahead 56-55 before the decisive run by UF.
The Gators return home to Gainesville to host SEC Eastern Division rival South Carolina Saturday in the O'Dome. Tip off is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live by ESPN.
-UF-
