The Sports Xchange
Florida 83, Auburn 52
AUBURN, Ala. — Senior guard Mike Rosario scored 22 points, lifting No. 7 Florida to an 83-52 win over Auburn at Auburn Arena on Saturday.
Freshman Michael Frazier III scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, and Kenny Boynton added 16 points for the Gators (20-3, 11-1 SEC). Senior forward Erik Murphy added 11 points and point guard Scottie Wilbekin had six points and 10 assists.
The Gators shot 51 percent (15 of 29) from 3-point range and held an opponent under 60 points for the 18th time this season.
Chris Denson led Auburn (9-16, 3-9 SEC) with 13 points.
Rosario helped the Gators get off to a strong start. The 6-foot-3 senior guard scored nine of their first 16 points, including a 3-pointer that gave them a 16-6 lead.
Rosario followed up a beautiful hanging reverse layup with a steal and three-point play on a breakaway layup to extend Florida’s lead to 25-10. Murphy then hit a 3-pointer to put Florida ahead 28-12.
A 3-pointer by Auburn’s Noel Johnson cut Florida’s lead to 37-22. But the Gators closed the half with a 10-0 run. Boynton and Frazier hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then Rosario followed with a 17-footer to put Florida up 45-22. After an Auburn miss, Wilbekin hit a jumper in the lane with 1.6 seconds left to put Florida up 47-22 at halftime.
Rosario scored 18 first-half points. Florida shot 60 percent from the floor (18 of 30) and 46.7 percent (7 of 15) from 3-point range. The Gators also scored 16 points off 10 first-half Auburn turnovers.
NOTES: Kenny Boynton made his 129th start for the Gators, a school record. Boynton passed former Gator and NBA forward Andrew DeClercq, who made 128 starts at Florida from 1992 to 1995. … Junior Chris Denson started for Auburn in place of leading scorer Frankie Sullivan, who came off the bench. … Scouts from the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Utah Jazz attended the game. … Florida won its fifth straight against Auburn and has won 15 of the last 16 meetings.
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