Erving Walker’s 18 point game helped the Florida Gators (10-3) end Xavier’s 30 game home winning streak on Friday night by the final score of 71-67.

The Musketeers went more than two years without losing at home, which was the longest streak in school history and second longest in division I, following right behind Kansas’ 66-game streak. Xavier almost had it snapped earlier this year after going into overtime two times.

Terrell Holloway led the way for Xavier with 28 points despite going 10 minutes into the second half without a field goal.

Xavier (8-4) straight up man handled the Gators on the offensive board tonight. It reminded me of the Ohio State game in Gainesville earlier in the season. Before the game started I was talking to a friend about how I have a good feeling that the Gators will keep their turnovers down this game. But you know it didn’t happen. Poor decisions and poor passing killed Florida. The Gators ended the game with 16 turnovers while Xavier only accounted for 8.

Florida’s best basketball tonight was during the second half at the 17:53 to 7:52 mark when they held the Musketeers without scoring a single field goal. They’re defense has really been holding up lately. They have held their opponents to 53.7 points in the last seven games. Now if they can get the offense more into it they can be unstoppable.

A total of four Gator players reached double figures tonight which helped Florida reach over 70 points for the first time in eight games.

The Gators began their 13-1 run early in the second half. Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker and Chandler Parsons found their shot behind the arc which gave Florida a 50-35 lead with 13 minutes remaining in regulation. But at the end when Xavier brought some full court pressure that caused the Gators to turn the ball over, the lead started to shrink right away. Holloway scored three times on drives to the hoop that cut the lead down to four with a little over a minute to go. But the Gators made 8 of 10 from the charity stripe as the game came to a close.

Parsons finished with just five points but added 11 boards while Kenny Boynton contributed 15 points and six assists. Vernon Macklin, who had a field day under the basket finished the game with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Gators are back in action on January 3 as they host the 9-4 Rhode Island Rams at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center starting at 9:00pm.