NCAA Game Summary - Creighton At Florida
POSTED: 12:06 am EDT March 22,
2008
Gainesville, FL -- (Sports Network) - Nick Calathes recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds as Florida decimated Creighton, 82-54, in the second round of the NIT at the O'Connell Center. Walter Hodge had 15 points and Marreese Speights 14 for the Gators (23-11), who will face Arizona State in the NIT quarterfinals. Jai Lucas added 10 points for Florida, which shot 50 percent from the field and converted 21 Creighton turnovers into 22 points. The Gators have now won 14 straight postseason games. Florida won the first 12 of the streak as part of their back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, but the Gators missed out on the NCAA Tournament this season after an up-and-down regular season and a first round loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference tourney. Cavel Witter scored 13 points to pace Creighton (22-11), which edged Rhode Island in the first round of the NIT. Dane Watts added 10 points and six boards, but the Bluejays shot 40 percent as a team and made just 4-of-20 from three-point range. The Gators scored the game's first eight points and opened up an early 15-6 lead. Creighton scored six straight to pull within 15-12 just 10 minute in, but Florida rattled off the next 14 points and closed the half on a 24-7 run, as Jonathan Mitchell finished the burst with a layup that gave the Gators a dominating 39-19 edge at intermission. Florida continued the rout after halftime, as their lead extended to as many as 33 after Speights' jam gave the Gators a 74-41 advantage with 6:05 to play. The Bluejays never challenged over the game's final 30 minutes as Florida cruised to the dominating win.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.











