Freshman Omar Payne had his first career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Florida to a 69-47 home victory over No. 4 Auburn on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. added 11 points and 16 rebounds and Noah Locke had 11 points for the Gators (12-5, 4-1 SEC), who shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Auburn 44-29.
Danjel Purifoy scored 10 points to lead the Tigers (15-2, 3-2), who dropped their second straight game. They lost 83-64 at Alabama on Wednesday night.
Auburn's leading scorer, Samir Doughty, was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. The Tigers shot 25.5 percent (14 of 55) overall and 17.4 percent (4 of 23) from 3-point range.
The Gators used a 10-2 run to go ahead 38-27 with 16:18 left.
After Doughty's consecutive 3-pointers pulled Auburn within 49-43 with 8:40 to go, the Gators went on a 20-1 surge that finished with two 3-pointers from Keyontae Johnson and one from Blackshear.
Payne and Locke each scored eight points to help the Gators take a 28-23 halftime lead.
Auburn shot a frigid 20.7 percent (6 of 29) overall and hit just 1 of 10 from 3-point range in the opening half. The Tigers stayed close thanks to committing just five turnovers, sinking 10 of 10 from the free-throw line and scoring 12 points off 12 Florida turnovers.
Two dunks by Payne, followed by Locke's 3-pointer and layup, gave Florida a 9-0 lead 4:23 into the game.
The Tigers used a 13-4 run -- fueled by six foul shots -- to tie it at 13 with 8:20 to go before intermission.
Tre Mann hit two free throws, Blackshear sank a jumper and Mann made a 3-pointer during a 7-0 spurt that put ahead Florida 22-15 with 6:08 left in the half.
--Field Level Media
Auburn | Florida | |
Danjel Purifoy 10 | Scoring | Omar Payne 19 |
J'Von McCormick 2 | Assists | Andrew Nembhard 5 |
Austin Wiley 6 | Rebounds | Kerry Blackshear Jr. 16 |
J'Von McCormick 4 | Free Throws Made | Kerry Blackshear Jr. 2 |
Devan Cambridge 1 | Steals | Keyontae Johnson 2 |
Austin Wiley 2 | Blocks | Scottie Lewis 2 |