TUSCALOOSA,
Ala. -- Patric Young scored 19 points, and Erik Murphy and Bradley Beal threw
in 14 each as the 14th-ranked Florida Gators used a furious blitz to open the
second and went on to a 61-52 road defeat of Alabama before 12,187 at Coleman
Coliseum.
In
clinching its 14th straight 20-win season, UF (20-6, 8-3) blew open a game that
was tied at halftime by scoring the first 16 points after intermission and
never led by less than nine the rest of the way.
Young,
the 6-foot-9 sophomore center, was 9-for-12 from the floor. Murphy was 4-for-8
from the 3-point line to go with five rebounds and four steals. Beal, the
freshman, added eight rebounds, three assists and a vicious slam-dunk in
traffic late in the game.
The
Gators won without a great night from its backcourt, as Kenny Boynton and
Erving Walker combined to make just three of 14 shots for 14 points. Walker,
the senior point guard, did finish with seven assists to break Ronnie
Montgomery’s school record with 504.
The game
was tied at 26 at halftime, with UF shooting just 30.8 percent from the floor
and having continued its Southeastern Conference-play issues from the 3-point
line, making just 3-12. The Tide, meanwhile, had hit nearly 59 percent (10-17),
including 3-for-5 from the arc, yet were locked with the visitors, thanks to 11
first-half turnovers.
Once the
second half started, the Gators took over.
Alabama
(16-9, 5-6) missed its first seven shots out of the locker room and threw away
four turnovers for good measure. Florida did practically the opposite, making
seven of its first eight field goals -- with 3-pointers from Murphy and
Boynton, plus four field goals from Young -- to seize command of the
undermanned Tide, who were playing with their two leading scorers, JaMychal
Green and Tony Mitchell, suspended for disciplinary reasons.
