Paced by freshman Donnell Harvey (pictured left) and Brett Nelson, the
sixth ranked Florida Gators defeated V-M-I 113-to-68 in a rare Tuesday
matinee at the Stephen C. O-Connell Center. Harvey scored a career-high 22
points while Nelson made five three-pointers and also reached a career-
high with 19 points. Another freshman, Matt Bonner, chipped in with 14
points - also a career high. The Gators hit the century mark for the third
time this season despite top scorers Mike Miller and Ted Dupay combining
for just 2-of-7 from the floor.
"I knew it was going to be a track meet", said Gator coach Billy Donovan
in his post-game radio interview. "I thought our intensity was very good".
Donovan liked the way his frontcourt players performed. "The way V-M-I
plays the lowpost, they really don't like to double down. They like to
play the post one-to-one. And that certainly enabled Udonis (Haslem) and
Donnell (Harvey) to be factors for us up front." Harvey and Haslem
combined to score 31 points. Brent Wright scored 14 points and made 8-for-
8 free throws to give him 20 straight.
The Gators have now won eight straight games, tying the second highest
winning streak in school history. Florida, now 10-and-1, faces South
Alabama on Thursday. It's the final tuneup before the start of the S-E-C
schedule.