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Gators Strong In Win Against Eagles

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By DANNY KLEIN Tribune correspondent

Published: November 12, 2007

GAINESVILLE - After looking shaky at times in its home opener against North Dakota State, the University of Florida men's basketball team scored early and often Sunday afternoon, dominating Tennessee Tech 93-65.

The Gators shot an efficient 57 percent from the field, including 9-for-17 from behind the 3-point line.

Florida led throughout, and was up by as much as 37 during the second period.

The young Gators squad, with seven freshmen on the roster, showed flashes of the unselfish nature signature to the teams during the past two championship runs. Florida totaled 21 assists on its 33 field goals.

"I think they had the focus and the passion today," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "They played the game the right way - unselfishly. They passed the basketball and I'm happy with the way they played."

After being called out by Donovan after Friday's game, center Marreese Speights responded with 16 points.

Speights brought the crowd to its feet with a huge dunk early in the first half. Speights said afterward that he let his play do the talking.

"I didn't need to say anything," Speights said. "I just looked at him and thought, 'Why would you even jump?'"

Donovan expressed doubts about Speights' play after the game, noting his three rebounds and poor defense as areas of concern.

"He's turned the ball over an enormous amount of times," Donovan said. "Marreese does a lot of things that show up in the stat sheet, but he also did a lot things that hurt our team."

After leading Florida with 21 points on Friday, guard Nick Calathes added 15 points and eight assists.

Freshmen forwards Adam Allen and Chandler Parsons also shined for Florida. They both had 15 points off the bench.

"I just play hard," said Allen, who was six of nine from the field. "If you play hard there's nothing to be nervous about. I don't think about anything when I'm out there. I'm just giving it my all."

Donovan continued to churn the roster, using 14 different lineups in the first half alone.

With the victory, the Gators extended their home winning streak to 21 games, setting a school record that began against Georgia on March 1, 2006.

Florida is tied with UCLA for the sixth-longest home streak in the nation. Memphis tops the list with 34.

INSIDE THE GAME

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Florida G Nick Calathes had 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists.

STAT OF THE GAME: UF has won 21 in a row at home, a school record.

TURNING POINT: Eleven straight first-half points extended UF's eight-point lead to 19 with 5:02 remaining.

UP NEXT: UF hosts North Carolina Central at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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