Florida guard Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored a game-high 24 points to lead the defending national champions to a 86-60 victory over No. 3 Ohio State in front of a Stephen C. O’Connell Center record crowd of 12,621 Saturday evening.

Junior Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) recorded his fifth double-double of the season in his return from a sprained ankle, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds that keyed Florida’s second-half run. Junior forward Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.) added 18 points and five rebounds, and junior guard Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) chipped in 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from long distance.

Ohio State (10-2) used a 9-0 run to start the second half after entering the period down 38-29. Horford stepped in with two jumpers, two dunks, a layup and several rebounds over the next several minutes to help the Gators (11-2) put the game away. Green and Brewer also came up big in the 33-9 run that turned a tied game into a 26-point win for the Gators.

Green had 10 points, including two 3-pointers, in the spurt. His layup at 6:02 sparked a 15-0 run that ended at 2:44, and included three dunks by Brewer, senior Chris Richard (Lakeland, Fla.) and junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.). Green’s 24 points were a result of 9-for-12 shooting. Brewer contributed 18 points, five rebounds and a team-high three steals in the victory.

Florida’s defense allowed Ohio State to shoot just 37.5 percent, and the Gators out-rebounded the Buckeyes 43-25. Florida also held OSU’s leading scorer, Daequan Cook, to just seven points. UF’s bench also out-scored OSU’s bench 21-11.

Mike Conley Jr. led Ohio State with 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals.

In an opening period that featured eight lead changes and five ties, Florida used a 15-0 spurt to open up a 33-20 lead. The Gators held the Buckeyes without a field goal for 6:07 in the first half, but OSU managed to make four free throws during that stretch. From 6:26 to to 2:44, UF held OSU scoreless.

Ohio State’s Greg Oden recorded two dunks in less than a two-minute span to trim Florida’s first-half lead to 36-29 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the period, but Green drew a foul off Oden with 5.1 seconds remaining and made both shots from the charity stripe for the Gators’ 38-29 halftime lead.

The Gators will now remain idle for exactly one week before taking on UAB on Saturday, Dec. 30, at the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.

-UF-