Florida Gators
Tennessee
Men's Basketball Defeats UT 68-62 on Senior Day
Wednesday, February 27, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Matt Bonner tied a career high by connecting on six three-pointers to pace the No.10 Gators past Tennessee 68-62 in front of 12,062 at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Tuesday night. The win concluded Florida's home schedule and improves the Gators' record to 21-6, 10-5 in Southeastern Conference play.
The junior forward scored all of his game-high 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting from behind the arc. Junior guard Brett Nelson shot 4-of-6 from behind the arc to finish with 12 points.
Tennessee falls to 13 -15 (6-9 SEC) and was led by Marcus Haislip's 17 points.
Florida senior center Udonis Haslem, playing in the final home game of his career, finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Junior walk-on guard Ronnie King scored six points to tie his career high.
"I asked everyone to give me 100 percent before the game, and I can now look around and say everyone gave 100 percent," Haslem said. "Ronnie King gave 200 percent."
Florida connected on 13-of-26 three-point attempts on the night, and it was the shooting of Bonner and Nelson that led the Gators down the stretch. The duo connected on three-pointers on three consecutive trips down the floor with the scored tied at 55 to give Florida a 64-60 lead with 3:35 left in regulation.
"I really thought our kinds showed tremendous character, especially down the stretch," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "After losing a close game to Alabama, our guys kept from getting restless and played very, very hard."
Tenacious Florida defense held the Vols scoreless for nearly the final three minutes, and dunks by Junior forward Justin Hamilton and Haslem concluded Florida's scoring for the night.
After a 9-0 run helped Tennessee to 15-8 lead at the 11:45 mark of the first half, Florida answered with a 16-0 run lasting six minutes to take a 24-15 lead with 6:19 left in the first half. Twelve of Florida's 16 points during the run came on three-point shots, including two from Bonner.
"It was just a combination of how they guarded me and coach Donovan's game plan," Bonner said. "We ran more pick and rolls with me stepping back and it worked."
Honored at center court before the game and by teammates wearing wrist bands with the initials "U.D." printed on them, Haslem picked up his 96th win as a Gator in his final home game. Haslem took a pass from Nelson for a thunderous slam to begin Florida's 16-0 first-half run.
Tennessee starting guard Jenis Grindstaff left the game at the 19:12 mark of the first half and did not return after bumping his knee in traffic.
