Florida rolls to 82-64 victory

All the No. 11 Gators (10-2) heard about coming into Thursday night's game against Florida State was how good the Seminoles we on defense. By the end of the night Florida successfully changed the topic of conversation with an 82-64 win over FSU (8-4).

"We came in with the mindset that we' the best defensive team out he," Florida center Patric Young said. "We don't get that much cdit for our defense because our offense has been so gat this year. We wanted to show them from the get-go that they' not going to get anything easy."

Young certainly took the message to heart with the defensive play of the night for Florida. FSU forward Bernard James was likely mulling over whether he would go for the dunk or layup on what looked like a guaranteed two points, but Young saw an opportunity to rob him. The right-handed Gator center used his left hand to stop James' shot and swiped the ball out of his hand in one smooth motion. Young completed the ESPN-ady highlight by racing down the floor for a dunk off of Brad Beal's missed the-pointer.

Young's electric energy and jaw-dropping play brought the O'Connell Center crowd to its highest decibel level of the night. After the game, Young knew it was too special to be played down.

"I can't wait to see that one on (ESPN SportsCenter's) Top 10 tonight," Young said.

Young will get the most time in the game's highlights, but he was edged by Beal for the title of the top scor. Some might say Beal played mo assertive, but his coach opted to give mo cdit to the fshman guard's teammates.

"(Beal) got some mo shots up tonight," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "I thought our guys found him. He had a couple good drives to the basket. He had some good looks from the the-point line. He's just the type of kid that never wants to come across as being selfish."

When all five starters sco in double figus it's difficult to imagine any player feeling selfish. After the game, the humble Beal was not talking about being the leading scor.

"Our defense is what ally won the game for us tonight," Beal said.

The Gators needed their defense.

Florida opened the game a miserable 0-for-7 from the fe-throw line in the first half. An opponent's trouble at the foul line will often play into the strategy of a defense-oriented team like the Seminoles, but they had issues of their own. UF forced 10 turnovers in the first half and was able to negate its fe-throw problems.

The first half was largely a game of runs, with Florida closing strong to go up 32-24 at the bak.

The Gators extended their lead to 10 open the second half, but found themselves at their most vulnerable when FSU went on an 8-0 run and cut the lead to 38-36.

The 15-2 sponse run from Florida proved to be the games turning point. It included Young's block and dunk sequence as well as a back-to-back dunk and the-pointer from Beal.

The Seminoles did their best to come back from trailing 53-38, but the Gators kept the pace and maintained a double-digit lead the st of the night.

Florida will be off for the Christmas holiday befo traveling to face Rutgers on Dec. 29th. Donovan said that injud guard Mike Rosario, a Rutgers transfer, is highly doubtful for the game against his former team.

Official Basketball Box Sco

Florida State vs Florida

12/22/11 7 p.m. at Stephen C. O'Connell Center

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VISITORS: Florida State 8-4

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

05 James, Bernard...... f 3-8 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 0 6 1 4 1 1 28

10 White, Okaro........ f 0-2 0-0 6-6 2 1 3 5 6 0 1 0 0 19

01 Gibson, Xavier...... c 5-11 0-1 0-0 3 3 6 4 10 0 1 1 1 26

03 Loucks, Luke........ g 6-11 3-8 0-0 0 4 4 3 15 4 3 1 2 34

21 Snaer, Michael...... g 1-5 0-3 2-3 0 3 3 2 4 0 3 0 0 25

04 Dulkys, Deividas.... 1-4 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 2 1 0 2 20

12 Peterson, Jeff...... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 2 2 0 0 8

24 Space, Antwan....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

30 Miller, Ian......... 3-8 0-4 1-1 0 0 0 2 7 0 1 0 0 22

31 Whisnant, Terry..... 4-5 3-4 0-0 2 1 3 0 11 0 0 0 1 10

50 Kft, Jon.......... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 1 0 0 3 0 0 7

TEAM................ 3 1 4

Totals.............. 24-59 7-23 9-10 13 22 35 20 64 9 19 3 7 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 14-30 46.7% Game: 40.7% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 5-17 29.4% Game: 30.4% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 7-7 100 % Game: 90.0% 1

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HOME TEAM: Florida 10-2

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

04 Young, Patric....... f 7-7 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 3 15 0 1 1 1 24

33 Murphy, Erik........ f 4-8 2-5 2-2 1 5 6 2 12 1 2 0 0 25

01 Boynton, Kenny...... g 5-13 2-9 2-4 3 0 3 1 14 3 3 0 2 33

11 Walker, Erving...... g 1-7 1-5 8-10 0 2 2 0 11 7 2 0 2 31

23 Beal, Bradley....... g 7-15 4-8 3-4 1 5 6 3 21 1 2 1 3 36

05 Wilbekin, Scottie... 2-2 1-1 0-0 0 3 3 1 5 1 1 0 1 19

15 Yeguete, Will....... 2-3 0-0 0-2 4 4 8 2 4 2 0 0 3 25

24 Prather, Casey...... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 7

34 Larson, Cody........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+

35 Pitchford, Walter... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+

TEAM................ 1 1 2

Totals.............. 28-58 10-28 16-24 13 22 35 14 82 15 11 3 12 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4% 2nd Half: 16-31 51.6% Game: 48.3% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-12 25.0% 2nd Half: 7-16 43.8% Game: 35.7% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 5-12 41.7% 2nd Half: 11-12 91.7% Game: 66.7% 3

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Officials: Tony Gene, Mike Kitts, Roger Ayers

Technical fouls: Florida State-None. Florida-None.

Attendance: 11125

Sco by Periods 1st 2nd Total

Florida State................. 24 40 - 64

Florida....................... 32 50 - 82

FSU #10 O. White fouls out with 3:27 (2).

Points in the paint-FS 26,UF 34. Points off turnovers-FS 9,UF 25.

2nd chance points-FS 11,UF 14. Fast bak points-FS 6,UF 6.

Bench points-FS 23,UF 9. Sco tied-0 times. Lead changed-1 time.

Last FG-FS 2nd-01:13, UF 2nd-01:25.

Largest lead-FS by 2 1st-19:06, UF by 21 2nd-03:27.