The University of Florida men’s basketball team started its 2010-11 season on a 16-4 run and never looked back, picking up a 92-58 exhibition victory over Florida Tech Thursday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The victory in the schools’ first-ever meeting between each other marked the 19th-straight exhibition win for the Gators.
Seven Gators saw at least 15 minutes of action as a total of four Gators scored in double figures. Eleven of the 12 Gators that entered the game scored, with sophomore guard Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) leading the way with a team-high 24 points (10-of-15 FG, 4-of-6 3FG) and five rebounds. Assisting in the Gators’ efforts was senior forward Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.), who had 15 points (6-of-11 FG), four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) chipped in with 14 points (7-of-9 FG) and three rebounds in 10 minutes and junior Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) dished out a team-high six assists.
Freshman swingman Casey Prather (Jackson, Tenn.) debuted for the Gators with the game’s only double-double, collecting a team-high 12 rebounds along with 10 points, while freshman forward Will Yeguete (Bourdeaux, France) tallied six points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Erik Murphy (South Kingstown, R.I.) also contributed, starting off his sophomore campaign with nine points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.
The Gators led by 19 at the half after shooting 60.0 percent from the floor (21-of-35 FG) in the first half, finishing the game at 50.0 percent shooting (37-of-54).
Florida out-rebounded the Panthers, 46-28 (18-6 offensive), limiting the Panthers’ offense to 41.2 percent shooting (21-of-51 FG), including just 26.7 percent (4-of-15 3FG) from beyond the arc. The Gator defense forced 30 turnovers by Florida Tech after forcing only 13.7 per game a year ago.
Justin Sedlak led Florida Tech in scoring with 14 points (5-of-13 FG) and eight rebounds.
