UF men’s basketball now 3-0

Florida found its lost shooting range Friday night against Troy.

On defense, the Gator effort remained the same.

Florida held its third straight opponent under 40-percent shooting in an 80-58 win over Troy in a second round Legends Classic game at the O'Connell Center.

The win may have come at a price. Florida starting forward Alex Tyus left the game with 2:08 left with a right ankle sprain.

"I'm concerned about Tyus' ankle," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "He's a little tender down there."

In need of a spark after trailing 32-31 at halftime, Florida turned to the press and received an offensive lift from sophomore point guardErving Walker. Stuck in an 0-for-15 shooting funk after missing all five of his first-half attempts, Walker finally heated up in the second half. Walker's first 3-pointer of the season put Florida ahead 38-34. His second capped a 7-0 run that extended the Florida lead to 45-36 with 14:58 remaining.

Walker scored five more points on a 3-pointer and a soft jumper in the lane during a 7-0 run that put Florida ahead to stay 57-39.

"I had to stay strong-minded," Walker said. "Once you hit the first one, you feel a little better, but I'm like, damn, when is the next one going in."

Florida, which came into the game 3-for-29 from 3-point range, shot 37.5 percent (12-32) from 3-point range against the Trojans. Freshman KennyBoynton again led Florida with 23 points, scoring UF's final 10 points of the game. Junior Chandler Parsons added 15 points off the bench. Walker had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds and senior Dan Werner had 12 points, going 4-for-5 from 3-point range.

"We know that we have good shooters on this team," Parsons said. "We just went out there and shot the ball with confidence."

The Gators forced eight second-half turnovers and scored 11 points off 12 Troy turnovers. Troy, which came into the game averaging 105 points per game, was held to 35.5 percent from the floor and 18.2 percent from 3-point range.

"We came out much better in the second half," Donovan said. "We shot the ball better and our press was much more effective."

Richard Delk, a transfer from Mississippi State, led the Trojans (2-1) with 15 points. Florida held guard Brandon Hazzard, who came into the game averaging 24 points per game, to just five points on 2-of-13 shooting.

Parsons gave Florida an early lift with 10 first-half points off the bench. But Troy still managed to stay in the game and take a slim lead into the half.

Boynton converted his second four-point play in as many games, fouled by guard Michael Vogler as he hit a 3-pointer, to put Florida ahead 31-25. But Troy closed the half on a 7-0 run. Antywan Jones scored on a driving layup, Vogler hit a 3-pointer and Delk made a putback layup to put Troy up 32-31.

Troy grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the first half which resulted in eight second-chance points. Overall, Troy outrebounded Florida 28-19 in the first half. Florida finished the game with a 45-44 edge on the boards.

"I was disappointed with how we rebounded the ball in the first half," Donovan said. "But we were able to correct some things."

FREE THROWS: Former Gator and NBA forward Andrew DeClercq attended the game. ... DeClerq is living in the Orlando area and is in his first year as an assistant coach at Montaverde Academy.

Contact Kevin Brockway at 352-374-5054 or at brockwk@gvillesun.com.