Kenny Boynton continues to shatter UF’s record books.
Two games after breaking Lee Humphrey’s record for career three-pointers at Florida (290), Boynton surpassed Erving Walker and Udonis Haslem on Saturday as 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 (9-4, 0-2 SEC) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
In 35 minutes, Boynton went 7-of-13 shooting and made 4 of his 8 three-point field goals. The senior guard also grabbed seven boards. Boynton scored a layup and two three pointers during Florida’s key 17-5 run early in the second half.
Playing with tendinitis in his right knee, junior forward Will Yeguete pulled down a season-best 13 rebounds, helping the Gators outrebound the Tigers 49-34.
Senior forward Erik Murphy, junior center Patric Young and freshman guard Michael Frazier II each grabbed seven boards. Young’s seven rebounds are his highest total since Dec. 22, 2012 against Kansas State when he had 10.
Florida played without Mike Rosario (ankle sprain), who hasn’t practiced the past three days. The redshirt senior guard rolled his ankle in UF’s win against Georgia but played through the injury Wednesday.
With 1:38 remaining in the first half, junior forward Casey Prather suffered an apparent high left ankle sprain after grabbing an offensive rebound for a putback layup. X-rays on Prather’s injury were negative.
“Those are tough to come back from,” coach Billy Donovan said. “The encouraging part is that it’s not broken. … He was certainly in significant pain.”
Florida held LSU to 32.3 percent shooting and a 6-for-24 mark from behind the arc. The Gators bounced back from 36.4 percent shooting in the first half with a 53.3 percent second-half clip.
In the first 14 minutes, both teams shot 8 of 22 from the field. As Florida was tied with LSU 19-19 with five minutes remaining in the first period, the Gators went on a 10-1 run to close the half.
After the 5-minute mark in the first period, the Gators outscored the Tigers 31-6 until the 12:27 mark in the second 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.”
LSU clawed back with a 12-0 run to cut the Gators’ lead to 13, but UF responded with an 11-2 run to make the game out of reach for the Tigers.
“We really hung in there and built the lead back up to 20,” Donovan said. “They’ve been in these situations where they’re a good comeback team, so for our guys to stop that run, stop momentum and close the game out is really encouraging.”
Television and radio broadcasts contributed to this report.
Florida guard Kenny Boynton, top, dunks the ball in front of LSU guard Charles Carmouche during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013. Florida won 74-52.(AP Photo/Bill Feig)
