On the afternoon of his 22nd birthday Saturday, Patric Young blew out Texas A&M’s candles.
The senior center manned the paint during the No. 3 Gators’ 69-36 win against the Aggies in the O’Connell Center, scoring nine points and grabbing a career-best 14 rebounds.
Young was only one point shy of his first double-double of the 2013-14 season.
“We just really chased balls as a team,” Young said.
“We were just focused on limiting them to one possession on offense, and we did that.
“If coach (Billy Donovan) would have kept me in, which I wanted, I would have had 17, at least. But it is what it is.”
Young’s effort on the glass helped Florida outrebound Texas A&M 57-27. Sophomore guard Michael Frazier II tied a career high with 21 points but added eight boards. Forwards Will Yeguete and Dorian Finney-Smith combined for 19 rebounds.
But Donovan said Florida’s gaudy rebounding margin had more to do with TAMU’s poor shooting.
The Aggies shot 14 of 54 (25.9 percent) for the game and only 4 of 20 from behind the arc.
TAMU’s 36 points tied the fewest UF has ever allowed in an SEC contest.
Young helped UF enter halftime with a comfy 34-17 advantage, powering the Gators to a 20-5 run during the final nine minutes of the first half.
After the contest’s first 20 minutes, the senior had team highs with eight points and seven rebounds.
The highlight of Young’s game was a two-handed putback slam that gave the Gators an 18-12 lead with 8:11 remaining in the first half. After Kasey Hill missed a layup, Young charged down the lane and caught the ball in mid-air for the dunk.
“I really thought his energy was very, very good,” Donovan said of Young.
“I told him I’m going to start telling him every game is his birthday.”
In the second half, Frazier carried the team offensively.
Following a slow start to the game from behind the arc — Frazier and Florida began with a 1-of-12 clip from three-point range — the sophomore sharpshooter found his groove during the latter end of the game.
After going 0 of 3 from three-point range in the first half, Frazier made 3 of his 8 attempts from downtown.
“Just not rushing my shot,” Frazier said.
“They just told me to keep shooting, and I found a rhythm there. You have games like that, but you’ve got to stay confident.”
Casey Prather, who did not start but came off the bench at the 18:08 mark in the first half because of ankle soreness, scored only seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in 21 minutes. The senior forward’s performance breaks a double-figure scoring streak of 18 games.
Florida has now won 13 straight games and 27 consecutive games at home. Saturday’s win also helped Florida tie its record of 13 straight SEC home wins.
“We’re chasing greatness,” Frazier said.
Florida’s next game — the much-awaited debut of freshman forward Chris Walker — will be against Missouri on Tuesday night at 9 in the O’Connell Center.
With a fatigued roster — DeVon Walker (hip pointer), Prather (ankle) and others are dealing with minor injuries — Donovan thinks having another body will help the Gators’ cause.
“We’ll see what he can give us,” Donovan said.
“Getting a body is good, especially in our frontcourt.”
Follow Landon Watnick on Twitter @LandonWatnick
Patric Young drives into the paint against Texas A&M on Saturday. Young’s career-high 14 rebounds helped Florida win its 13th straight Southeastern Conference home game. Young fell short of a double-double, notching nine points against the Aggies.
