Against a deep, fast-paced Northwestern State squad, Florida used an inside advantage to cruise to its first win in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Forward Erik Murphy and center Patric Young combined for 34 points as the No. 3 seed Gators used a 20-6 run midway in the second half to pull away from the No. 14 seed Demons for a 79-47 second-round victory Friday night in Austin, Texas.
UF (27-7, 14-4 Southeastern Conference) held Northwestern State, the highest-scoring team in the NCAA with 81 points per game, to its worst offensive effort this season and just 15 points in the second half.
“Defense wasn’t great in the first half,” Murphy said. “(Coach Billy Donovan) wasn’t too happy with us at halftime. He got at us a little bit. It fired us up a little bit.”
Murphy finished with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and eight rebounds, while Young had 16 points and nine boards.
For the contest, the Gators won the rebounding battle 40-21 and forced the Demons (23-9, 15-3 Southland Conference) to 19 turnovers against UF’s 12.
Florida also outscored Northwestern State 44-22 in the paint.
Seven years ago as a No. 14 seed, Northwestern State shocked third-seeded Iowa 64-63 in its last appearance in the Big Dance.
But Florida would not let history repeat itself.
The Gators never trailed throughout the contest, but the Demons kept it close for the majority of the first half.
Early on, NW State succeeded offensively, knocking down mid-range jumpers and finding open opportunities in transition.
With 13:21 remaining in the first half, Northwestern State stood tied with Florida 17-17. The Demons started the game shooting 9 of 16.
With guards Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario in foul trouble early, the Gators looked winded against the Demons’ 10-man rotation.
Still, UF managed a 40-32 lead at halftime by shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 4 of 7 from behind the arc.
“I wasn’t really thrilled with our defense in the first half,” Donovan said. “They shot too high of a percentage. Any time you’re seeing a team for the first time, there’s some adjustments your players have got to make.”
In the second half, the Gators began to pull away as the Demons’ shot selection deteriorated. Northwestern State went cold in the second half, shooting 19.2 percent.
“We did a better job of getting back in transition,” Murphy said. “That’s where they hurt us in the first half.”
UF used a 9-2 run to lead 49-38 with 14:20 left as Murphy and Boynton led the surge.
Guard Michael Frazier II was fouled in the left corner and drilled all three of his free throws to put the Gators up 55-42.
Florida’s lead snowballed to 65-42 more than 6 minutes later after it went on a 13-0 run.
Point guard Scottie Wilbekin’s halfcourt lob to forward Casey Prather for an alley-oop dunk with 8:24 remaining put an exclamation point on UF’s victory.
Wilbekin and Boynton each added 11 points. Boynton surpassed the 2,000-point mark with the effort and now trails UF’s all-time leading scorer Ronnie Williams (2,090 points) by 84 points.
Forward DeQuan Hicks (12 points) was Northwestern State’s only player to score in double figures.
Donovan is now 10-3 at Florida in NCAA Tournament openers.
The Gators will face either No. 6 seed UCLA or No. 11 seed Minnesota on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. The South Region’s bracket got busted Friday night, as No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast upset No. 2 seed Georgetown 78-68.
A television broadcast contributed to this report.
Florida's Erik Murphy (33), Kenny Boynton (1), Patric Young (4), Scottie Wilbekin (5) and Will Yeguete, right, watch on the bench during the final seconds of a second-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Friday, March 22, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Florida defeated Northwestern State 79-47. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
