Gators overcome slow start to beat Seminoles

Al Horford tallied 14 points and Corey Brewer scored 13 for Florida (5-0), which went 33-of-45 from the foul line. Horford went 6-of-10 from the charity stripe, while Brewer was 7-for-10.

Coming off the title at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic against Syracuse last Friday, the Gators continued their strong start by taking advantage of 22 Florida State turnovers.

Lee Humphrey added 11 points and Walter Hodge scored 10 for the Gators, who trailed by 17 points in the first half, but scored 12 straight at one juncture late in the second half to gain control.

Andrew Wilson had 13 points and Todd Galloway scored 11 for the Seminoles (2-1), who went 12-of-22 from the free throw line.

FSU was ahead 58-57 following a jumper from Jason Rich with 5:34 left, but the Gators scored the next 12 points. Humphrey started the spurt with a three- pointer and Green added two free throws for a 62-58 edge.

Horford followed a missed three-pointer by Isaiah Swann for a dunk and Chris Richard’s layup extended the advantage to 66-58 with 2:34 remaining. One free throw by Brewer finished the rally at 69-58 with 1:21 to go.

Florida State scored the game’s first 10 points and led 18-3 following a layup from Diego Romero with 12:53 left in the opening half. The Seminoles led by as many as 17 points in the half, the last time at 24-7 on a layup by Wilson with 11:13 to go.

However, the Gators used a 19-4 spurt to close within two points following a layup by Hodge with 3:08 to play in the half. The Seminoles would score the final four points of the half for a 38-30 lead.

A three-pointer by Swann had the Seminoles ahead 46-37 with 16:41 remaining, but the Gators used a 12-1 spurt to go in front following two free throws from Horford with 12:18 left. Brewer had the first five points of the run with two foul shots and a three-pointer.

Game Notes

These same schools will meet on the football field Saturday. Both of those teams are ranked with FSU No. 23 and the Gators 19th. The two basketball teams hadn’t played the night before the UF-FSU football game since the Gators took a 68-47 decision in Gainesville in 2001...Head coach Billy Donovan is 198-92 in his 10th season at Florida. The Gators are 21-0 all-time at home under Donovan in November...The Gators are 38-19 all-time against the Seminoles and have won seven of the last eight meetings...Al Thornton, who came into the game averaging 21.5 points and 10 rebounds for Florida State, was limited to nine points.