GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alex Tyus scored a season-high 20 points and Vernon Macklin added 19 and eight rebounds to lead Florida to a 65-52 victory over Kent State on Thursday night.
Tyus made 10 of 15 shots from the field and added five rebounds for the Gators (7-2). Macklin went 9 for 12 from the floor to finish in double figures in scoring for the third game in a row. He had 20 points against Central Florida on Dec. 1 and 12 against American on Dec. 5.
Justin Greene and Carlton Guyton led Kent State (7-3) with 14 points each. It was the third consecutive road loss for the Golden Flashes, who were playing in the state of Florida for just the third time in program history.
This was by far Tyus' best game of the season, and it came shortly after his worst — zero points on 0-for-5 shooting against Central Florida. The 20 points is five shy of his career high set against Missouri-Kansas City on Nov. 30, 2008.
Tyus and Macklin staked Florida to a 32-27 halftime lead. The two combined to score 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Macklin had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Tyus had eight on 4-of-7 shooting.
The rest of the team shot 5 for 17 from the floor, including 1 for 6 from 3-point range. Kenny Boynton scored seven points on 3-of-7 shooting.
Kent State led 27-23 with 4:12 to play, but Florida outscored the Golden Flashes 8-0 to end the half.
Florida quickly turned that eight-point halftime lead into a 17-point margin by outscoring Kent State 16-4 in the second half's first 7 minutes. Tyus and Macklin combined to score 12 of those points. Tyus had eight, including three dunks.
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