With Florida leading Ole Miss 50-37 at the beginning of the second half, senior Erik Murphy grabbed a defensive rebound and took off down the court. Kenny Boynton missed his jumper, Scottie Wilbekin missed from behind the arc, but Murphy’s three found nothing but net.
In what was a quiet start to the second half, Murphy’s bucket brought life back to the Gators.
No. 4 Florida (18-2, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) went on to defeat No. 16 Ole Miss (17-4, 6-2 SEC) 78-64 on Saturday in the O’Connell Center thanks to Murphy’s team-high 19 points.
“I was just hitting my shots,” Murphy said. “I took my shots that were open and just hit them, just made them. … Any guy on our team could lead our team in scoring. We got a lot of options.”
The Rebels’ Marshall Henderson leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game, but it wasn’t enough to outmatch the Gators. Though Henderson had a game-high 25 points, it was Murphy who made it look easier.
Murphy, who is the SEC’s most efficient three point shooter with a 48.7 percent, went 5 for 6 behind the arc Saturday night. The forward also finished with six rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks.
“Coach (Billy Donovan) always tells us we have to give the ball to him when he’s wide open,” redshirt senior Mike Rosario said. “He’s shooting over 50 percent from three with confidence, it’s like we have to give him the ball. That’s our mindset as a team. When we’re coming off screens or coming out of transition, [Murphy] is the first guy we’re looking for.”
Murphy wasn’t the only Gator shooting well Saturday night. Patric Young, Rosario and Wilbekin followed Murphy’s example, with each scoring in double figures. Boynton was just shy of double-digit scoring, finishing with nine points.
Florida showed dominance in the paint by outscoring Ole Miss 34-20. But with the exception of Murphy, UF didn’t have the same control behind the arc.
Collectively, the Gators shot 37.9 percent from three, but Donovan still felt like they could’ve done better.
“Even though we shot a pretty good percentage from the three-point line, I thought it could have been a lot better,” Donovan said. “It’s pretty impressive that Boynton and Scottie Wilbekin go 2 for 14 and we still shoot 38 percent from the three-point line. If those guys make a few more threes, we probably have 90 (points).”
Although Boynton just missed scoring in double figures, he had a career-high 10 assists on Saturday. In total, Florida had 23 assists while Ole Miss racked up only five.
The Gators now move further ahead of the Rebels in the standings and remain the only undefeated team in SEC play.
“I thought we did a great job of just being passionate and being determined to go out there and win,” Rosario said. “The rest of the season we’re playing for something, and that’s a conference championship. The focus that we have as a team and a program is just unbelievable. I feel like we got more room to get better as a team, and I feel like our guys are really focused on that.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Senior forward Erik Murphy (33) attempts a three-point shot over Ole Miss forward Murphy Holloway (31) on Saturday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Murphy scored 19 points during Florida's 78-64 victory over Ole Miss.
Junior guard Scottie Wilbekin attempts a shot over Ole Miss forward Reginald Buckner on Saturday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Wilbekin scored 13 points during Florida's 78-64 victory over Ole Miss.
