National Basketball Association
Florida 79, Louisiana State 61
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 1, 2014
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Jim Burr, # John Hampton, # Antinio Petty
Attendance:
12589
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 1 Florida 79, LSU 61: Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 16 points and Casey Prather scored 12 of his 14 in the second half as the host Gators pulled away for their 21st consecutive win.
Prather, who was 4-for-15 from the floor in his previous two games, went 6-of-7 in this one to spur a 57.4-percent showing for Florida (27-2, 16-0 SEC), which established a school record for wins in the regular season. Michael Frazier II hit four 3-pointers - all in the first half - in a 14-point performance and Scottie Wilbekin added 11 points as the Gators went 13-of-23 from beyond the arc while pushing their home winning streak to 31 games.
Johnny O'Bryant III led the Tigers (17-11, 8-8) with 18 points while Jordan Mickey had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Hickey and Jarell Martin chipped in 12 points apiece for LSU, which dropped its seventh straight road game.
Florida scored the game's first eight points and went up 19-7 nearing the midway point of the first half when DeVon Walker and Finney-Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers. The Gators hit nine 3s in the opening 20 minutes, including the fourth of the game by Frazier that gave the hosts a 41-25 lead at the break.
LSU got within 13 points early in the second half before Prather hit a jumper and then made a steal and went the other way for a layup to ignite a 9-0 burst that left Florida up 52-30 with just over 16 minutes to go. The lead peaked at 29 points in the closing moments as the Gators coasted to their sixth straight victory in the series.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The LSU reserves combined for two points on 1-of-11 shooting. ... The Tigers had a 34-29 advantage on the boards. ... Florida's pursuit of a perfect league slate continues Tuesday at South Carolina.
Top Game Performances
Louisiana State |
|
Florida |
Johnny O'Bryant III 18 |
Scoring |
Dorian Finney-Smith 16 |
Andre Stringer 4 |
Assists |
Kasey Hill 5 |
Jordan Mickey 10 |
Rebounds |
Chris Walker 6 |
Johnny O'Bryant III 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Dorian Finney-Smith 2 |
Shavon Coleman 2 |
Steals |
Kasey Hill 2 |
Jordan Mickey 2 |
Blocks |
Chris Walker 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Louisiana State
|
61 |
38.3 |
7-21 |
8-10 |
12 |
33 |
3 |
6 |
15 |
Florida
|
79 |
57.4 |
13-23 |
4-7 |
18 |
27 |
3 |
9 |
13 |