ORLANDO, Fla. ( AP) — Florida’s Billy Donovan earned his 400th career coaching victory as the Gators rode a 16-point halftime lead to a 96-70 win over Stetson on Monday night.
Bradley Beal had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Erving Walker added 21 to lead the Gators ( 5- 1) in the neutral court matchup at Amway Center. The Hatters (3-3) were led by Chris Perez with 20 points.
Stetson stayed close early on before a 23-4 Gators’ run midway through the first half blew the game open. Florida relied on its outside shooting during the spurt, knocking down eight 3-pointers in the half and 14 for the game.
Florida is off until Friday when they travel to face No. 5 Syracuse. The Hatters open Atlantic Sun play by hosting East Tennessee State Thursday.
No. 6 Louisville 79, Long Beach State 66
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Chris Smith scored 18 points and Louisville got off to a fast start to beat Long Beach State for the short-handed Cardinals’ 14th straight victory at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville (6-0) scored the first eight points of the game and took a double-digit lead early in the first half, but couldn’t pull away from Long Beach State ( 3- 3) until the closing minute even though the 49ers never got closer than five points in the second half.
Freshman Chane Behanan had 13 points and seven rebounds for Louisville, which has dealt with multiple injuries so far and was without another player when reserve guard Elisha Justice didn’t dress after he broke his nose.
Larry Anderson scored 17 points for the 49ers before fouling out.
No. 11 Xavier 82,
No. 20 Vanderbilt 70, OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tu Holloway scored 10 of his 24 points in overtime and Xavier rallied from 10 down to beat Vanderbilt.
The Musketeers (5-0) trailed by as much as 10. But they scored the final four points of regulation, including Mark Lyons’ short jumper with 6.5 seconds left to force overtime. Wells hit two free throws, and Holloway knocked down two 3-pointers to cap a 12-0 run ending with 2:27 remaining in overtime that put Xavier up 74-66.
Lyons had 19 points for Xavier, and Travis Taylor added 11.
John Jenkins led Vanderbilt (5-2) with 20 points. Lance Goulbourne and Jeffery Taylor had 18 apiece. The Commodores went cold after Jenkins’ 3 with 3:56 left put Vandy up 66-62. They didn’t score again until Jenkins’ jumper with 2:17 left in overtime.
No. 16 Marquette 88, Jacksonville 56
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jae Crowder scored a season-high 27 points to lead Marquette past Jacksonville.
Darius Johnson- Odom scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half for the Golden Eagles (6-0) and helped steady a shaky offense.
Delwan Graham’s 13 points led the Dolphins (2-4), who played a ranked opponent for the second consecutive game. Jacksonville lost 107-62 at No. 10 Florida on Friday.
Crowder scored 10 points during a 29-9 run that bridged halftime and helped turn a close game into a blowout. His 3-pointer and three-point play pushed Marquette’s lead to 59-37 with 13:21 left.
Marquette, playing for the first time since winning the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands last Monday, improved to its second 6- 0 start in three seasons.
No. 22 Memphis 70, Jackson State 45
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Joe Jackson scored 15 points, Chris Crawford added 14 and Memphis overcame a lackluster first half to defeat Jackson State.
Memphis (3-2) outscored Jackson State 45-26 in the second half to pull away.
Jenirro Bush led Jackson State (1-7) with 11 points, the only visitor to reach double figures.
Memphis was coming off a less-than-impressive performance at the Maui Invitational where they lost to Michigan and in overtime to Georgetown. It dropped the Tigers from No. 8 to No. 22 in this week’s poll.
Memphis, which struggled in the first half agaist Jackson State, opened the second half with 15 straight points to break open the game.
The Tigers would lead by as many as 31 in the second half.
No. 24 California 73, Mcneese State 57
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Jorge Gutierrez scored a season high 26 points to go with six rebounds and five assists, and California matched its best start under coach Mike Montgomery with a victory over McNeese State.
Allen Crabbe had 20 points and six rebounds and Harper Kamp scored 10 for the Golden Bears (6-1), who overcame a shaky first half before opening an 18-point lead. Cal also started 6-1 in Montgomery’s first year in 2008.
Patrick Richard had 18 points and Dontae Cannon scored 15 for the Cowboys (3-3), going 1-1 on a rare West Coast trip. The defending Southland Conference champions beat Sacramento State two days earlier.
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