The Gators were hungry to prove they could beat a big-time opponent.Saturday, Nick Calathes fed his team's ambition.
The sophomore scored a career-high 32 as Florida overcame a 10 point half-time deficit to knock off North Carolina State(9-3) 68-66 in the O'Connell Center.
"Nick played exceptional," UF Coach Billy Donovan said. "It was a night for him to score, and he created a lot of different things for our team."
Calathes scored 24 points in the second half and dominated down the stretch.
With the Gators (12-2) down 66-65 and the clock slipping under 11 seconds, Calathes drove down the lane an dropped a floater over 6-foot-9 Wolfpack forward Ben McCaueley .
The basket would prove to be the winner, and Calathes would ice the game with a foul shot on the following possession.
"We didn't let him get to the basket," NC State Coach Sidney Lowe said. "But he made some tough shots over 6-8, 6 -9 guys. There wasn't more you could do. He controlled the game."
Calathes scored the final 12 points of the game for UF.
Freshman Erving Walker (8 points) provided the Gators with a spark off the bench and was relentless at the front of the Florida press.
His two early second half steals helped the Gators climb back into the game after something of a lethargic first half defensively.
"In the first half our pressure just wasn't there," Walker said. "It kind of took for us to get down before we could get up again. In the second half there was a whole different intensity."
After loses earlier this season to Syracuse and Florida State, UF was able to secure a much needed win over an opponent from a power conference.
"I'm really surprised that they are picked (to finish) where they are," Donovan said. "If there are seven or eight teams better than them in the ACC, that would be really, really impressive."
