Early in the week, Florida coach Billy Donovan called center Patric Young into his office for a little chat.
Donovan wanted Young to play with more energy, more passion and more enthusiasm.
Clearly, Young embraced the challenge.
Young scored 12 points off the bench, making several crowd-rousing plays in the second half, and No. 14 Florida beat No. 18 Mississippi State 69-57 Saturday to extend its home winning streak to 17 games.
"His energy really helped us on both ends of the floor," Donovan said.
Bradley Beal led the Gators with 19 points. Erik Murphy added 14, including 11 in the first half, and Erving Walker finished with 10 thanks to a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.
Coming off a physical game Thursday night at Mississippi, the Gators (17-4, 5-1 SEC) started a little sluggish Saturday but really got things rolling in the second half. An 11-0 run sparked by Beal's third 3-pointer and highlighted by Young's two dunks turned a tight game into a double-digit affair.
Mississippi State (17-5, 4-3) trailed 62-47 after the spurt and never got within single digits. The Gators made enough plays down the stretch to secure their second win in six games against the Bulldogs.
Florida, which has won five straight, also improved to 5-1 in short-turnaround games (Thursday-Saturday) during the past three seasons.
"I'm not going to lie. I was a little nervous coming into this game," Young said. "I'm sure we don't have a good history since I've been here with these early games. They're a good team. I thought, 'Oh man, this is a really tough game.' "
Young and Florida's 3-point shooting made it look easy in the second half. UF, which leads the nation in 3s, hit 11 of 24 from behind the arc.
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