No. 4 Florida 78, No. 16 Ole Miss 64
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Senior Erik Murphy led four Florida scorers in double-figures with 19 points, lifting No. 4 Florida to a 78-64 win over No. 16 Ole Miss.
Mike Rosario added 14 points for the Gators (18-2, 8-0 SEC). Scottie Wilbekin had 13 points and Patric Young posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Marshall Henderson led Ole Miss (17-4, 6-2 SEC) with 25 points. Senior center Murphy Holloway had 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Rebels, who couldn't overcome a 40-27 halftime deficit.
Henderson kept Ole Miss in the game early. The 6-foot-2 guard made his first two 3-point attempts, including one off a steal in transition to cut Florida's early lead to 9-8.
But up 11-10, the Gators responded with a 7-0 run, attacking Ole Miss' zone defense both inside and out. Patric Young and Will Yeguete had back-to-back inside baskets during the run, followed by a 3-pointer from Erik Murphy.
Up 20-14, Florida went on another 10-0 run that featured 3-pointers from Murphy and Michael Frazier. Frazier's 3-pointer in the corner extended UF's lead to 30-14 with 9:39 to go in the first half.
Florida took its biggest lead of the half, 35-15, on an inside basket from Murphy. But Ole Miss answered with a 10-0 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Henderson.
A Murphy 3-pointer extended UF's lead back to 38-25. After a pair of Ole Miss free throws, Florida junior point guard Scottie Wilbekin hit a baseline jumper at the first half buzzer, putting Florida up 40-27 at halftime.
The Gators shot 54.8 percent from the field in the first half, while holding Ole Miss to 41.7 percent shooting.
NOTES: Ole Miss senior guard Nick Williams (foot) and sophomore forward Aaron Jones (knee) sat out of the game due to injuries. Jones is out for the season after tearing his ACL last Tuesday against Kentucky. ... Florida football coach Will Muschamp was among fans in attendance for the game.
