College basketball

It's just another day for the undefeated Gators

UF shows its customary hot shooting and stands one win away from the best start in school history.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published December 10, 2005

GAINESVILLE - This is what has become the norm for the Florida basketball team at home this season.

A few minutes after the opening tipoff the Gators have a double-digit lead, then spend the rest of the game working out like a scrimmage, with a few highlight reel plays thrown in for good measure.

And so it went again Friday night against another overmatched opponent.

Leading by 16 midway through the first half, and up by 22 at halftime, the No. 10 Gators handily defeated Bethune-Cookman College 88-58 in front of 8,922 at the O'Connell Center.

"This was a good win for our guys tonight," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "This is a tough time for athletes with final exams and the holiday season. Some teams are not able to sustain the intensity and energy our guys have at this time of year. Our turnovers were not good, but overall, I was proud of the way they played."

With good reason.

Florida continued its high-percentage shooting from the field, hitting 67.3 percent, a new O'Connell Center record. The Gators had 27 assists and held Bethune-Cookman without a field goal for 6:38 early in the second half.

With the win, Florida is 9-0 and one win away from tying the record for the best start in school history.

"We knew coming into the season we had a lot of talent," said junior guard Lee Humphrey, who had 13 points and four assists. "We knew we had lost a lot of talent, but we knew we had some good players returning. I don't know if we expected to be 9-0, but we knew we could be pretty good."

Bethune-Cookman (3-5) shot 43.6 percent from the field, but just 25 percent from 3-point range (3-of-12) and were outrebounded 35-17.

"It could have been worse, but I wish it would have been a whole lot better," B-CC coach Clifford Reed said. "Florida is a young, but really talented team. I would have liked to have limited their 3s and I would have liked to have had the post players one-on-one."

The Gators shot 74 percent from the field in the first half and had assists on 16 of their 20 baskets. Sophomore center Al Horford was 5-for-5 in the first half, and finished the game 8-for-8 from the field (17 points), along with seven rebounds. The Gators had five players in double figures.

"I still feel we have room for improvement," Donovan said, pointing out his team's 21 turnovers. "That's the only area that I was disappointed in tonight."

[Last modified December 10, 2005, 00:52:07]