Ben Bornstein, ESPN Radio

The Florida Gators haven’t lost at home in a full calendar year and they were not about to let that streak end tonight. The Gators sent the LSU Tigers back to the bayou with a score of 76-64. Florida shot the ball well tonight and uncharacteristically hit a good percentage of their free throws. Five Gators finished in double figures tonight.

There were a few other uncanny ways the Gators found to win. They had more turnovers than LSU, had less assists, but did win the rebounding battle. Bradley Beal led in that category with eight and Patric Young had seven himself coming off the bench tonight. Young’s ankle was still bothering him a little bit, but not enough for the Tigers to stop him from getting eight points in the paint. He went three for three from the field and gave the team some energy when they needed it most. LSU was leading at the beginning of the game 10-4 before Young came in and after that, the Gators never trailed again. Erik Murphy had a team-high 15 points while shooting six of seven from the field and three of four from beyond the arc.

Kenny Boynton’s streak of 34 games with a three-pointer came to an end tonight but he was not discouraged. He ended up with 11 points and had some nice floaters in the paint when he realized his shot wasn’t quite falling. Mike Rosario came off the bench to score 11 points as well and looked to be heavily committed to the defensive end of the floor. When asked about the team’s defense he said, “We played real hard in the first half and I thought it carried over into the second half. Coach told me to stick my nose in there and see if I could get a couple steals and I ended up getting one.” The Gators were pressing the entire first half and were able to force LSU into some costly turnovers. They were able to make the most of it as they got 13 points off turnovers.

On defense, the Gators had trouble with LSU’s big center, Justin Hamilton. He was able to step outside and hit shots and was also a big presence in the paint. He had 27 points but there was only one other LSU player who scored in double figures. Coach Billy Donovan said, “I can live with the one guy getting a lot of points like that as long as we can pretty much shut down the rest of those guys, which we did.” The “Bayou Bengals” were held to only 44% shooting while the Gators shot a very efficient 56% themselves. The Gators also made a third of their 3-pointers which is generally a low percentage for them but enough to win this game.

Scottie Wilbekin got good minutes tonight when the Gators let LSU get back to within 8 points in the second half. He was put in there for “instant defense” and delivered as he made life difficult for the LSU guards. Wilbekin was able to pressure them into tough positions on the court and even made a couple shots himself. Will Yeguete started tonight in place of Young and played his usual style of heart and hustle basketball. He didn’t score very much (only 3 points) but once again showed everyone why Donovan puts so much trust in him. Yeguete, a 6’7” forward had to guard a 7-foot behemoth and for the most part, did a good job. He also took a charge at the beginning of the game to get the defense fired up as well as the Rowdy Reptiles in the O’Connell Center.

The Gators pulled out a victory tonight but must get better at boxing out and grabbing all the boards if they want to compete with the toughest competition in the SEC. That would be the likes of Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Mississippi State. They also have to cut down on the turnovers and continue to run a smooth offense. The Gators will travel to Oxford, Mississippi to play the Ole Miss Rebels on January 26^th.

Ben Bornstein is a second year Telecommunications major at the University of Florida and interns at ESPN Radio. He covers the SEC basketball beat. You can follow him on twitter at  @BOOMSTEIN33. E-mail Ben at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it