No. 10 Florida 84, Alabama State 35: Kenny Boynton led a balanced scoring effort with 22 points as the Gators annihilated the Hornets in their second shot at a season-opening victory in three days.
Erik Murphy scored 15 while Patric Young added 12 points and as many rebounds for Florida (1-0), which just missed setting a new school record for fewest points allowed in a game. The Gators' regularly scheduled season opener against Georgetown aboard the USS Bataan was canceled on Friday.
The Gators raced out to an 8-0 advantage before Alabama State (0-2) got untracked. After Timothy Coleman hit a pair of free throws with 14:48 remaining in the first half to trim the Hornets’ deficit to 13-5, Florida rolled off 24 unanswered points over the next 9:06 until Jamel Waters hit a pair of free throws to end the run.
Devonte’ Neal scored Alabama State’s second field goal of the game with 4:13 left in the first half, but Boynton hit a pair of 3-pointers as the Gators went on another 8-0 run to close out the opening 20 minutes with a 47-9 halftime lead.
Bobby Brown scored all 14 of his points in the second half to lead the Hornets, who shot just 21.4 percent from the field.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida’s school record for fewest points allowed in a game is 27. … Alabama State shot a dreadful eight percent from the field (2-for-25) and committed 14 turnovers in the first half alone. … Boynton passed Neal Walk to climb into seventh on the Gators’ all-time scoring list.
Alabama St. | Florida | |
Bobby Brown 14 | Scoring | Kenny Boynton 22 |
Anthony Price 5 | Assists | Kenny Boynton 5 |
Bobby Brown 6 | Rebounds | Patric Young 12 |
Bobby Brown 2 | Free Throws Made | Mike Rosario 6 |
Jamel Waters 2 | Steals | Mike Rosario 3 |
Bobby Brown 1 | Blocks | Patric Young 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Alabama St. | 35 | 21.4 | 4-20 | 7-10 | 8 | 27 | 2 | 8 | 17 |
Florida | 84 | 47.5 | 8-24 | 20-30 | 18 | 46 | 4 | 10 | 12 |