The Florida Gators are coming off one of their biggest wins in a long time against #2 Michigan State, and now have a chance to win the Legends Classic tournament with a win tonight over Rutgers. The game should be a good one, and it is expected that Florida should be able to bring home another victory and the Legends Classic trophy. Follow the game here at GSN’s Live Blog coverage.

1st Half

The game is going back and forth early. The Gators are beginning to pull ahead now, up 13-6 with 13:35 left. Vernon Macklin has scored 4 points so far, and Chandler Parsons has hit the only three pointer up to this point. Rutgers just got a big 3 pointer from Dane Miller, and cut the score to 13-9. Erik  Murphy is making his prescence felt early with two baskets for four points, and pushing Florida to a 19-13 lead. Kenny Boynton has continued his excellent 3 point shooting, pushing Florida’s lead to 22-15. The first half is nearing an end, 6:58 left, and Florida is up 24-19. Rutgers is sticking around in this game, and following a Dan Werner turnover, Rutgers trims the lead to 24-22. Werner converts on a layup, gives Florida a 28-22 lead with 3:55 left. Erving Walker has just sunk a huge 3 pointer, raises lead to 31-24. I’m impressed with Rutgers’ Mike Rosario, who currently has 9 points, and just drained a deep ball, cutting the Gator lead to 31-27. Once again, Walker drains a three ball, brings the lead to 34-27, and forces Rutgers to take a 30 second timeout. The half has concluded with Florida up 34-29. Rutgers is certainly keeping themselves in this game, but mostly because of the play of Mike Rosario, who leads all scorers with 11 points. Florida must step it up in the second half if they want to hold of the pesky Scarlet Knights.

First Half Stats

2nd Half

Kenny Boynton begins the 2nd half scoring, puts the lead at 36-29. Vernon Macklin adds another bucket, puts Florida up by 9. Rutgers responds nicely, drains a 3, Florida up 38-32. Florida’s zone is causing problems for Rutgers, especially Mike Rosario. Werner just made a great defensive stop, and it ends up resulting in a fastbreak dunk by Vernon Macklin. Florida holds a ten point lead, and will look to build upon it. Florida is playing tough, forcing Rutgers to shoot bad shots, and Boynton is hitting yet another 3 ball; Florida up 48-36. Florida has there biggest lead at 15, Vernon Macklin is having a great game; Alex Tyus on the other hand is not. Florida is putting this game away, Boynton is putting up his daily points, while their defense is doing great. Florida up 61-44 with 6 minutes left. What a game for Florida, an excellent tournament appearance for Florida, defeat Temple 73-58 to win the Legends Classic!

Final Stats

The inner state rivalry takes yet another game into this historic collegiate battle. Tonight, the two Men’s Basketball programs go head to head at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. Both teams stand at 3-0 on the year, and tonight’s matchup will be the first test for both teams. If the Gators want to make a run for the tournament, this is a great spot to start. Let’s see if Florida can secure another victory at home.

The first half was all Florida…actually, it was dominated by Florida, just check the score (39-19). Alex Tyus and Ray Shipman lead the way with 8 points a piece, while Erving Walker added 7 points. Dan Werner is 2 for 2 from beyond the arc, but Kenny Boynton still hasn’t hit from deep, in fact he hasn’t even registered a basket yet. But after one half, the Gators are proving that they are a legit team in the SEC, and as long as they can continue to play defense for their upcoming game against Top 5 Michigan State, Florida could possibly be able to pull a major upset over a national powerhouse. But barring any crazy incident, the Gators appear to have locked up another win, and will look to add on some more points in the second half.

1st Half Stats

The second half saw a near successful comeback executed by Florida State, but the Gators would eventually settle down, and put the game away. The Gators were lead Alex Tyus, Erving Walker, and Kenny Boynton, all of which had 13 points each. Boynton scored all of his 13 points in the second half, with 7 of those points coming from the foul line. The win puts Florida at 4-0 going into a tough week ahead, where they will face Michigan State this upcoming Friday. The Gators will need to be able to convert from beyond the arc, and play solid defense if they want to pull the upset of the Spartans.

The basketball season is underway, and GSN is excited to see how Florida performs after their disappointing season last year. Tonight, the Gators take on the 2-0 Troy Trojans at home. GSN will be providing live updates throughout the night, so for all of you who are unable to watch the game,  join in on the action in our Live Blog. Comments are appreciated, and will start great conversation throughout the night.

The first half is underway, and the Gators are trailing early. Down 13-9, Florida will need to hit their shots better. As of now, they are shooting 30.8% from the floor. Chandler Parsons has been their best shooter up to this point, sinking both of his attempts, and currently standing at 5 points. Once again, Parsons comes up big, draining a 3 pointer to cut the lead Troy’s lead to just one point. The threes are falling for Florida tonight, Dan Werner sinks yet another for Florida, giving them the 17-16 lead. Parsons is the first player to double digit points tonight following a layup, giving Florida the 19-16 lead. Vernon Macklin commits his second foul of the night, not good to get in early foul trouble. Erik Murphy gets his first points of the night, and gives Florida a 21-17 lead with 7:20 left in the first half. Erving Walker still hasn’t got on the board, but is making an impact on the boards, leading the team with 4 rebounds, as well as a steal. Kenny Boynton adds two successful free throws, but Troy captializes on the other end, Florida remains ahead 23-19. The three point ball has been dropping so far for Florida, and Dan Werner has just drained another from downton, giving Florida a 27-23 lead. Make it five 3 pointers for Florida up to this point, Boynton finds net from deep, Florida up 30-25. The difference up to this point has been Florida’s 41.7% from deep, compared to Troy’s 11% beyond the arc. The score is still close, but if Florida keeps having success from downtown, this game will be over soon. Troy is coming back strong following the timeout break, and they cut the lead to 31-30. Troy overcomes Florida’s lead, takes a 32-31 lead. The Trojans are hitting their shots as of the moment, and Florida has gone cold from the floor. The Gators have missed three 3 pointers in a row, which is the main reason for their deficit as of now. Erving Walker commits a foul with :10 seconds left in the first half, but luckily for Florida, Troy can’t capitalize on the free throw. The half ends with Troy holding a 32-31 lead. Continue following GSN after halftime. As for now, check out the halftime leaders:

Points: Chandler Parsons – 10

Assists: Erving Walker – 3

Rebounds: Erving Walker – 5

Second half  is underway. Boynton comes out firing to start half, and gives Florida 33-32 lead. Walker gets a big steal, and is fouled on the breakaway, let’s see if Florida can get a good lead. Walker converts both free throws, give Florida three point lead. The Erving Walker show has begun, another 3 point shot drained, puts Florida ahead 38-34. Troy is not going away, and has cut the lead to one basket. Alex Tyus gets a huge offensive rebound, and puts it up for two. Florida takes 40-36. There’s 15:38 left in the game, with Florida in a dog fight against Troy. This is a good early season test apparantly, now it’s time to see if Florida can come through in the crunch time. A pair of made Parsons’ foul shots, and another Erving Walker 3 pointer gives Florida a 45-36 lead. Florida pulls p by 10 now following a Tyus jump shot. The Gators have outscored Troy 17-5 so far in the second half, and hold a 48-37 lead with 13:08 left. Erik Murphy converts on his jumper, gives Florida a 50-39 lead. What a surprise…another Walker 3 pointer. Florida up big now, 53-39. 10 minutes left in the game, Florida holds a comfortable 15 point lead, due in large part to the play of Erving Walker, as well as Kenny Boynton. Take a look at the scorecard: Parsons 13 points, Walker 13 points, Boynton 13 points…now that’s spreading the ball around to your three playmakers. Finally, Vernon Macklin gets on the board following his tip in, giving Florida a 60-43 lead. 7 minutes left, and Florida isn’t letting up on the gas pedal following their 20 point lead. Dan Werner hits another 3 ball, giving Florida their 10th three of the night, resulting in 30 points from downtown. 5 minutes remain and Florida has improved their lead to 22. Boynton gets a quick five points following a successful jumper, and then a deep ball to give Florida a 80-52 lead. He leads the team with 20 points, followed by Chandler Parsons with 15. Well that’s all folks, Florida holds off the pesky Troy Trojans, and ends up blowing them out in the second half, winning 80-58!

Final Stats (provided by ESPN.com)

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Florida Gators men’s basketball opened up the 2009-10 season with a huge win over the Stetson Hatters on Sunday.

Four Gators reached double digits in the 74-46 victory. Junior forward Alex Tyus recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Kenny Boynton, center Vernon Macklin, and junior forward Chandler Parsons all scored in the double digits for Florida. Macklin shined on defense as well with three swats.

Florida’s shooting beyond the arc today was a concern for Billy Donovan. The Gators had missed 12 straight three balls during the game and just about gave up the streak for consecutive games with a three pointer until Chandler Parsons saved their butts with 33 ticks left in the game. But when your not shooting great, defense always makes up for it. Go ask Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow. They would tell you the same thing.

Florida held Stetson to just 46 points for a combined of 16/56 attempts from the field which is only around 28 percent. This was a great way to start off the season. I think they looked pretty sharp but still have a long way if they want to be very successful.

The Gators return back in action on Wednesday as they host Georgia Southern at 7 pm.