Kenny Boynton continues to shatter UF scoring records.
Two games after breaking Lee Humphrey’s record for career three-pointers at Florida (290), Boynton surpassed Erving Walker and Udonis Haslem on Saturday for No. 3 on UF’s all-time scoring list with 1,782 career points.
The senior guard’s team-high 20 points propelled No. 11 Florida (12-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) to a 74-52 victory against LSU in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
After making a free throw at the 3:16 mark in the second half, Boynton passed Walker (1,777 points), his backcourt partner for three seasons at Florida.
Then with 1:04 remaining, Boynton drilled a three-pointer to climb ahead of Haslem (1,781). Boynton now sits behind only Ronnie Williams (2,090) and Andrew Moten (1,930).
In 35 minutes against the Tigers, Boynton scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting and made 4 of 8 three-point field goal attempts. The senior guard also grabbed seven boards.
Boynton has averaged 17.3 points in the past four games. During five contests before the recent stretch, he averaged only 8.6 points on 25.5 percent shooting and a 12.5 percent clip from behind the arc.
“I put those games behind me,” Boynton said. “Beginning of the year, I think it was more mental than anything.”
Boynton sparked an undermanned Gators squad with 15 points in the second half. Redshirt senior guard Mike Rosario (left ankle) was inactive, and junior forward Casey Prather suffered an apparent high left ankle sprain at the 1:38 mark in the first half after grabbing an offensive rebound for a putback layup.
“I thought it was a gutsy game for our guys, considering we have two older guys not playing in the game,” coach Billy Donovan said. “(We were) really relying on six to seven guys to find a way to win on the road.”
Said Boynton: “If I went down, I’d trust that my team would do it without me. It’s really an effort thing with us.”
During Florida’s key 21-5 run, which put the Gators up 50-25 with 12:29 remaining, Boynton scored a layup and buried two three-pointers.
His 5-of-7 clip in the second half helped the Gators shoot 53.3 percent in the final 20 minutes. Florida went 36.4 percent shooting in the first half.
“In the first half, I thought we made a lot of poor decisions,” Donovan said.
“We took some shots inside the lane that were very, very difficult. … We just took some tough shots on the break. As we settled down there at the end of the first half, we got into a little rhythm and closed out with a little bit of a run.”
The Tigers (9-4, 0-2 SEC) clawed back with a 12-0 run to cut the Gators’ lead to 13, but UF responded with an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach for LSU.
The highlight of Florida’s run was a steal by Boynton, which led to a fastbreak, one-handed slam by the senior.
“As a team, we did a great job of pushing through fatigue,” Boynton said.
“When they got after us, they started pressing. After they made their run, we did a great job of getting stops.”
Television and radio broadcasts contributed to this report.
Kenny Boynton (1) shoots during Florida’s 58-40 win against Savannah State on Nov. 20 at home.
