12-11-2015, 03:11 AM
GAINESVILLE, Fla. Nike Roshe One Breeze UK . -- No. 3 Florida has won with defence most of the season. The Gators showed Saturday they can pull out games on the other end of the court, too. Scottie Wilbekin scored 16 points, leading all five starters in double figures, and Florida beat Alabama 78-69 for its 15th straight victory. The Gators handled the Tide for the second time in 16 days and extended a school record for consecutive home wins to 29. "If you play defence the way we did tonight, youre not going to win," coach Billy Donovan said. "Thank God we had some offence today that helped us." Florida (21-2, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) shot a blistering 62 per cent from the field and finished with a season-high 22 assists. The Gators trailed by seven late in the first half before taking over the game in the paint and in transition. That opened things up on the perimeter for Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II. Wilbekin was 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc, making all three in the second half. Frazier was 3 for 8 from the 3-point range. Frazier finished with 14 points, joining Wilbekin, Casey Prather (15), Will Yeguete (12) and Patric Young (11) in double figures. It was the first time all five of Floridas starters topped 10 points since Nov. 21 against Middle Tennessee. "We have a balanced team, and anyone can beat you on any given night," Prather said. Prather, the teams leading scorer, failed to reach double figures the last two games while dealing with a sprained left ankle. He returned to form against Alabama even though Donovan wasnt sure he would play a few hours before the tip. Donovan gave Prather the option of playing or resting, and he chose to give it a go. "Its got nothing to do with him not being a tough kid or he cant play through pain," Donovan said. "It gets more into the fact that he doesnt feel confidence-wise that hes capable of doing the things he knows he can do. When he gets to that place, he really gets mentally taken out because he knows he cant do certain things. "When he knows he can do things physically, it adds to his confidence. When he cant move like he wants to move, I think he knows hes putting our team in jeopardy, and that eats him alive and kills him." Trevor Releford led the Tide (9-14, 3-7) with 25 points on 7-for-10 shooting. He was 4 for 6 from behind the 3-point line and perfect on seven free throws. Releford scored 16 points in the first half, carrying Alabama for much of the afternoon. His 3-pointer put the Tide up 28-21, silencing the sold-out OConnell Center. Alabama shot 61 per cent in the opening half and went 5 for 7 from behind the arc, giving the defensive-minded Donovan plenty to talk about at halftime. The Gators responded with an effective press, made 3-pointers and a heavy dose of post play that seemingly wore down the Tide. "Theyre at their best when theyre in transition," Tide coach Anthony Grant said. "From an offensive standpoint, they took us out of some things that we were able to get there in the first half." Florida went on a 25-8 run that turned a deficit into a double-digit lead. The Tide ended up losing its four straight and sixth in the last seven games. "This program cant do anything but go up," Releford said. "Its just a process. Right now were losing a game, but I feel as a team were getting better and Coach is helping us with that." Chris Walker, Floridas highly touted freshman who became eligible this week, played just 4 minutes in his second collegiate game. He finished with four points, two fouls and a rebound. Donovan said he hopes to get Walker more playing time. For as dominant as Florida has been recently, the teams toughest test comes next week. The Gators play at Tennessee on Tuesday night and then at No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday. Those games could go a long way to determining how Florida finishes in the conference and what kind of seed it gets in next months NCAA tournament. "I dont think we played great," Yeguete said. "We got it done, but we didnt play great. We know weve got to do a better job if we want to win in Knoxville on Tuesday." Nike Roshe One Print UK . Holland told The Associated Press on Saturday that Zetterberg could return to play if the team extends its post-season streak to 23 consecutive seasons. Zetterberg had back surgery Friday in New York to remove a fragmented disk. Cheap Nike Roshe One Sneaker boots . - The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Keith Appling and forward Jeremy Tyler, reducing their training camp roster to 17 players. STUTTGART, Germany -- Felix Sturm defeated defending champion Darren Barker with a second round TKO to take the Britons IBF middleweight title on Saturday. Former WBA champion Sturm twice knocked Barker to the canvas and looked set to finish him off when the towel was thrown in. Referee Mark Nelson called it off 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the round. "I hit him well with my swings," said Sturm, a German of Bosnian descent. "We worked on that in training. I also worked on my hip rotation and was more stable than before." Barker, who pointed at his hip after going down the second time, was limping and clearly in major discomforrt. Nike Shox Nz Mens Black. . The Londoner previously had two hip replacement operations. He was taken to a hospital directly after the bout to assess the extent of his injury. "Its good that it was short. My wife didnt have to suffer so much," said Sturm, who dedicated his win to her. "She deserves this belt more than I." He became the first German to win four world titles and improved to 38-3-2 (17 KO), while Barker dropped to 26-2 (16 KO). Sturm added that he was looking forward to the rematch in England early next year, though it remains to be seen if there will be one, depending on the extent of Barkers hip injury. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '