Florida Gators
Ole Miss
Walker Becomes Member of 1,000 Point Club as Gators Defeat Rebels
Sunday, January 9, 2011 | Men's Basketball
The University of Florida men's basketball team took advantage of clutch shooting down the stretch to defeat Ole Miss in the Gators' SEC opener, 77-71, at the O'Connell Center on Saturday evening.
The Gators were led by newly-minted 1,000 point club member Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) as he scored 20 points against the Rebels. Walker now has 1,006 points for his career and has now led the Orange and Blue in scoring six times this season.
UF seniors Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.) and Vernon Macklin (Portsmouth, Va.) led the Gators in rebounds with seven apiece, while also contributing 17 and 16 points, respectively.
The teams traded points to open the first half, with Ole Miss taking as much as a five-point lead at 14-9 with a trey by Zach Graham. Parsons answered with a fastbreak dunk to give the Gators momentum before UF went on a 6-0 run to go ahead 19-18 with 7:10 remaining in the first half.
The Rebels pushed back to tie the game multiple times before two made free throws by Walker and great decisions in the paint gave Florida a 36-26 lead with less than a minute remaining in the half. Parsons hit a trey at the buzzer to give the Gators an 11-point lead heading into halftime, 39-28.
Back from the break, sophomore Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) went on a tear, scoring 12 points en route to 17 points on the night. He opened the Gators' scoring in the second half with a 3-pointer, giving Florida its largest lead of the night at 12, and then had back-to-back three-pointers to put the Gators ahead by eight, 74-66, with 2:28 remaining in the contest.
The first of those was a four-point play, as Boynton nailed a fadeaway jumper and got fouled after releasing the shot, subsequently making the free throw afterwards. The sophomore guard had nine straight points down the stretch to seal the win for the Gators.
Orlando native Chris Warren scored 20 points on the night and kept things close for the Rebels, including tying the game at 61-61 by sinking two free throws.
Florida will next take to the hardwood on Tuesday, Jan. 11 as they head to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Opening tip is at 9:00pm and will be televised on ESPN.
