Creighton University
Florida
Freshman's Triple Double Keys Florida As MBB Suffers Season-Ending NIT Loss at Florida
3/21/2008 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida used a pair of extended runs to build a 20-point halftime lead and never trailed while posting an 82-54 win over Creighton on Friday in second-round action of the 2008 MasterCard National Invitation Tournament. Southeastern Conference co-Freshman of the Year Nick Calathes had a triple-double for Florida, finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Florida advances to the NIT quarterfinals and will play a Tuesday night road game at Arizona State. Creighton ends its year with a 22-11 mark after reaching the postseason for an MVC-record 11th consecutive season.
The Bluejays fell behind 11-2 to start the game, only to use a mini-burst to draw within 15-12. The Gators threw a 14-0 barrage on the Jays, including a alley-oop dunk by Speights and a back-to-back three pointers by the defending national champs made it 29-12.
The Jays got buckets from Casey Harriman and Cavel Witter to draw within 12 at 31-19 before Florida ended the first-half on a 9-0 run, taking their largest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 39-19 after Nick Calathes' drive with four seconds left in the half.
The Gators scored nine of the first 11 points to open the second half and take a 49-21 lead, and the rout was on after that.
Creighton was led in scoring by Witter's 13 points, while Dane Watts scored 10. The Jays shot 40 percent from the floor and turned it over 21 times while managing a season-low five assists.
Florida had four players in double-figures, led by 15 from Walter Hodge, while Speights had 14 points. The Gators shot 50 percent from the field and hit 8-of-20 three-point baskets.
NOTES: The contest marked the final game for CU seniors Dane Watts, Pierce Hibma and Nick Bahe ...Creighton leads the all-time series with Florida by a 2-1 margin ...Creighton had not played a defending national champion since taking on Marquette in 1978 ...Creighton has played 39 all-time postseason games, but still has never won consecutive games in the same season ...Corey Brewer had the only other triple-double in Florida history and this was the first-ever triple-double allowed by Creighton in recorded history ...Booker Woodfox had his streak of 14 straight games in double-figures. He finished with four points on 2-of-13 shooting.
