GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators closed the non-conference portion of their schedule Tuesday night with a 79-61 victory over UAB.
If Florida's starting guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton can shoot consistently like they did against the Blazers, the rest of the SEC may want to put a bubble around the basket the way Gators coach Billy Donovan does when he wants to stress the importance of rebounding to his team.
The bubble prevents the ball from going in regardless of how good of a shot is taken.
“You have to rebound the ball,'' Florida center Patric Young said. “It's not fun when no matter what you do the ball is not going in.”
The overmatched Blazers faced a difficult dilemma on Tuesday. They could go over the top of Florida's screens and allow Young and forward Erik Murphy to have more room to work inside, or they could go under the screens and allow Walker and Boynton more room to shoot from 3-point range.
UAB decided to take their chances with Walker and Boynton and got burned.
Walker scored a season-high 23 points – hitting a career-high seven 3s – and Boynton scored 20 points for his ninth 20-point game of the season in the Gators' 14th consecutive home win.
Boynton has been the Gators' most productive scorer this season, but for Walker, he was coming off his least productive offensive game with only three points in a win over Yale on Saturday.
“The thing I'm most pleased about tonight more than anything is that Erving Walker could take four shots last game and not be really in the flow of the game, and then he could come back in this game and score 23 points,'' Donovan said. “We're going to score points provided they play the right way. Tonight it happened to be Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. Those guys really made some plays.”
Walker (7 of 9) and Boynton (6 of 10) combined to shoot 68.4 percent from 3-point range as the Gators finished 15 of 27 as a team from beyond the arc, the 12th time in 15 games Florida has hit 10 or more 3-pointers.
The Blazers made it interesting for much of the first half, taking a 16-15 lead on a layup by Quincy Taylor with 9:17 left in the first half. A Walker 3 quickly erased that lead and off the Gators went, closing the first half on a 22-10 run.
About the only thing that could slow the Gators down in the second half was a brief delay due to the bank of lights behind each baseline going out because of a power surge. Donovan and UAB coach Mike Davis spoke briefly and opted to continue to play in the dimmer conditions with Florida holding a 56-36 lead.
UAB went on a 19-8 run to trim Florida's lead to 64-55, but Boynton and Walker then it back-to-back 3s – Walker hitting a fall-away 3 with the shot clock ticking down to boost the lead back to 15.
“I knew Erving was going to come around,'' Boynton said. “It was just mental with him. He was frustrated. He is going to continue to have games like this.''
While Boynton and Walker had no trouble finding their strokes, freshman Brad Beal had the worst shooting performance of his young career.
Beal made only 2 of 15 shots, finishing with five points, five assists and two steals.
With the Gators opening SEC play on Saturday at Tennessee, Donovan isn't too concerned about Beal's off night.
Walker scored three points against Yale and Florida scored 90 points. Beal only had five Tuesday and the Gators scored 79, the first time an opponent has scored more than 70 points against the Blazers.
“When you are dealing with young people, it's day to day,'' Donovan said. “Brad Beal right now can go 2-for-15 and who knows what is going to happen at Tennessee. Tonight was a great learning lesson for him. Sometimes you have a night like that.''
Donovan said it wasn't Beal's shot selection. He was taking good shots, they just weren't falling.
No problem like that for Walker.
“I was alright,'' Walker said. “When you get rolling like that, you feel like as long as it's a good shot, anything you throw up is pretty much going to go in. That's how it was.”
Young finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and one assist. He also fouled out for the first time in his career, picking up five fouls in the second half after none in the first.
He didn't seem that bothered by having to spend the final 2:31 on the bench.
Not with Boynton and Walker shooting like they were.
“How scary,” Young said. “On any given night, those guys can light it up for our team.”
With the SEC schedule on tap, the Gators will need more hot nights from Boynton and Walker.
At 12-3, Donovan is ready to see if the No. 13-ranked Gators are ready for their next test.
“I think our non-conference schedule has been difficult, has been challenging,'' Donovan said. “I feel good about going into Knoxville from the standpoint of playing at Rutgers, playing at Syracuse, playing at Ohio State. We have played in some difficult venues.”
