Nov. 28, 2005

Final Stats

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Alabama State knew it was facing a daunting task Monday night against No. 14 Florida at the O'Connell Center. But even in an 87-60 defeat, head coach Lewis Jackson found reasons to laud his team.

"I think our guys played extremely hard," Jackson said after the loss that dropped his team to 1-5. "Of course, it's always hard when you have to play one of the top teams in the country. Our plan was to try and take away Florida's big guys and make them shoot from the perimeter. We were able to do that for a while but their big guys dominated. But overall, I think we played hard and played decent defense."

Florida (6-0) never trailed, scoring the first 10 points of the game and never looking back in front of an announced crowd of 9,281. But for most of the remainder of the contest, the Hornets made the Gators work all night.

"We got out 10-0 and the pace of the game was great but then they put on the breaks," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "If you look at stat sheet at halftime, we should've been up more than 13 points. They're a hard team to play. They're quick and athletic. I don't think we were able to get any flow to the game."

Every time it seemed as if Florida was going to pull away in the first half, ASU had an answer. Cedric Mitchell hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first half and the Gators - who shot 65 percent from the field through the first 20 minutes to only 37 percent for the Hornets - held just a 45-32 advantage.

But Alabama State ultimately could not keep up with Florida's athleticism and size on the inside in the second half. The Gators held the advantage on the boards for the game (34-24) and still shot 59 percent from the field in the second half. To make matters worse for the Hornets, Florida hit 13-of-18 from the free throw line during the final 20 minutes and shot 71 percent for the game. Bama State shot only nine free throws the entire night.

Still, Jackson found solace in his team's overall effort against one of the top teams in the nation.

"We had guys step up and make some shots and our big guys were more physical around the basket," Jackson said. "I'm proud of the effort from our guys tonight."

LaMarquis Blake led the Hornets with 16 points and Mitchell added 13 off the bench. Four Gators scored in double figures, led by Taurean Green's 18 and Corey Brewer's 17.