No. 2 Gators chew up LSU

Posted 6:41AM on Thursday 17th January 2002 ( 23 years ago )

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Brett Nelson equaled his career-high with 26 points Wednesday night to help No. 2 Florida beat LSU 102-70 and match a school record with its 11th straight Southeastern Conference victory. Nelson wasn't the only one setting personal bests for the Gators (15-1, 4-0). Orien Greene had 14 points and 11 assists, both career-highs, and Udonis Haslem matched his career-high with 16 rebounds to go with his 20 points. Florida shot 60 percent from the field and extended its school-record winning streak to 14 games. The Gators' No. 2 ranking is the highest in school history. The loss was a startling detour for LSU (11-5, 1-2), and Tigers coach John Brady had the right idea: He got ejected with 17:22 remaining after refusing to move from center court when referee John Clougherty hit him with his first technical foul. Before his ejection, Brady was the only form of entertainment the Tigers could offer. He yelled at players, officials, his own assistants, and at one point, got so angry, he raised his knees to his chest, put both feet on the edge of his chair and screamed in frustration. Much of his anger was directed at LSU's biggest star, Collis Temple III. Temple had 15 points, but they were all meaningless. The team's leading scorer this season was invisible - both on the court and on the score sheet - until LSU trailed 58-35 with 16:06 left. Florida had too many highlights to list. Among them were James White's steal and hip-twisting dunk, David Lee's two-handed jam and Haslem's easy dunk off a pass from Nelson, who went to the floor and scrapped hard for a loose ball - even though his team was ahead by 29 points. It was enough to make Florida fans forget that the Gators were without starting guard Justin Hamilton, who separated his shoulder Sunday against Vanderbilt. Ronald Dupree led the Tigers with 19 points and eight rebounds.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/200060