Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Tags
Gators pull away in second half of Legends Classic final
BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
PHOTOS BY ANDREW HOWARD
For a half there was Rutgers hanging with a Florida team fresh off of their upset over the second-ranked team in the country the night before, as evident on the floor as it was on the scoreboard. But then, in a town where momentum can shift quickly, the Scarlet Knights' run ended just the same as for many dream weavers down the block.
Rutgers played the hand it was dealt, went for broke and busted, falling to the Gators 73-58 in the finals of the Legends Classic in Atlantic City.
Down only five heading into halftime, 34-29, there were glimpses of hope that while not a win, at least a moral victory could be had to finish off the weekend.
Then it all came apart and quickly.
The shots stopped falling, Florida started scoring in the paint almost at will and the game started to resemble so many others where a promising start led to a disappointing finish."I think we lose sight of our identity, of who we are and what we're trying to get accomplished and where we're headed," coach Fred Hill said of the difference in his team before and after the half. "Again I think it's tough when you look up and you're playing pretty good.
Hill went on to list what went right and wrong but ultimately settled on a lack of scoring as the main culprit.
The box score said the same thing. They shot just 37.9% in the second half, missed all but one of their nine three-pointers and turned the ball over eight times.
Mike Rosario finished with 14 points on 5-15 shooting, but only three came in the second half, as he shot 1-7.
With every missed Rutgers shot Florida extended their lead. Even when they could score Florida responded. Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker hit back to back threes to stretch their lead to 12.
The deficit would go back to single digits but another Boynton three-pointer ran it to 55-42 and it was done from there.
Boynton finished 19 points and Walker had 11, being named the tournament MVP.
"I think we've got a very inexperienced team and that showed tonight in stretches," said Hill. "When you're playing well it's kind of easy to play and flow. When things aren't going your way you need experience and you need some maturity and some guys to settle you down versus their press."
