GAINESVILLE — Ninth-ranked Florida buried Morehead State just deep enough with a staunch defensive performance in the first half to hold off the Eagles' furious second-half push on Sunday afternoon in the O'Connell Center.
The Gators (3-1) held the visiting Eagles (2-2) to 28.6 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes and took a 34-17 lead into the break behind 14 points from point guard Erving Walker. Eagles' star senior power forward Kenneth Faried scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the second half to narrow the gap, but Florida prevailed for a 61-55 win.
"When you're beating a team by 17 points, it's almost like you know the other team is going to come out and battle and fight," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "If you give them a glimmer of hope they can get back in the game the first four or five minutes of the half, you're going to create a level of energy for them that you're going to have to deal with the rest of the half, and we did that."
Morehead State cut the lead to 45-39 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game, but got no closer thanks to two late threes by UF guard Kenny Boynton, who had a miserable 0-for-8 start.
Boynton (10), Walker (16) and forward Chandler Parsons (13) all finished in double digits for the Gators, who struggled mightily on the offensive end, shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 26.3 ( 5 for 19) from behind the arc.
"In the first half we had a really good defensive effort, and in the second half they calmed down, but overall we played good defense today," Boynton said.
Faried, projected to be a first-round NBA Draft pick by multiple scouting services, finished with 20 points, 18 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Donovan raved about Faried's performance after the game, saying the 6-foot-8 power forward's performance was a good lesson for his big men.
"The difference in the second half was Faried totally dominated our frontcourt by himself," Donovan said. "He's not talented at all, and it's a great lesson for our guys. He's not a talented player, he actually has no offensive skill. He's not a great post player, he's not a great scorer. He is a relentless — and I use that with all capitals — a relentless effort guy in terms of going after every single rebound."
Florida, which has played four games in 10 days, will host Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
