Gainesville, FL – Michael Frazier led six players in double figures with 17 points, as the No. 7 Florida Gators dispatched Marquette, 82-49, in a Big East/SEC Challenge tilt from O'Connell Center.
Will Yeguete, Casey Prather and Mike Rosario added 11 points each for the Gators (6-0), who have won all six to start the season by double digits. Erik Murphy and Patric Young poured in 10 apiece, with the latter filling the stat sheet thanks to 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals.
The balanced scoring made up for a poor shooting night from Kenny Boynton, who was held to six points on 2-of-11 from the floor.
Vander Blue notched a game-high 20 points but was the lone player to score above single digits for the Golden Eagles (5-2), who suffered their worst loss thus far this season.
The Gators assumed control early in the first half, using a 13-4 burst to pull away for good.
Frazier connected on consecutive triples to kick-start the run, Young and Prather added buckets and Murphy ended it with a trey for a 23-13 advantage. The Golden Eagles pulled within 26-19 on a Derrick Wilson bucket, but Young's layup and a jumper from Yeguete quickly re-established a double-digit margin.
It was 38-24 at the break thanks to two more shots from beyond the arc from Frazier.
Boynton's bucket early in the second half pushed the Gators' edge to 45-24, and the Golden Eagles continued to struggle. Frazier's final shot from beyond the arc made it 70-39 with 6:15 to play and it was an easy path to the finish.
Florida was in control from the outset, never trailing at any point. The hosts scored six straight -- all from Rosario -- to snap a tie and take a 10-4 lead early.
Five in a row from Marquette made it a one-point game before the roof caved in on the visitors.
Game Notes
Despite Frazier's 5-of-8 performance from long range, Florida connected on only 9-of-24 three-point attempts ... The Gators managed to shoot 50.9 percent from the field for the game ... Marquette committed 14 turnovers and only forced eight from Florida ... Wilson and Davante Gardner each totaled six points for the Golden Eagles.
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