BOX SCORE
POSTGAME QUOTES (PDF)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Radford shot 50 percent from the field, but couldn't overcome 24 turnovers as the Highlanders fell to No. 19/20 Florida, 66-55, in non-conference men's basketball action Wednesday evening at the O'Connell Center.
Johnthan Edwards (Queens, N.Y./Tyler Junior College) paced Radford (2-9) with a season-high 15 points and nine rebounds.
Jareal Smith (Savannah, Ga.) and
Gorkem Sonmez (Istanbul, Turkey) contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Erving Walker hit five of the Gators nine 3-pointers to lead the way with a game-high 20 points. Backcourt mate Kenny Boynton added 11, while Chandler Parsons recorded nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Florida (9-3) grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and turned them into as many points.
After falling behind 20-7, Radford outscored the Gators 17-11 and held them to just two field goals the final 8:37 of the first half to cut the deficit to 31-24 at the break.
In addition to the Highlanders going 10-of-18 (.556) from the floor in the opening period, Edwards led all players at intermission with 11 points.
The Gators opened the second half on a 14-4 run and stretched their advantage to as many as 18 on several occasions.
Trailing 64-46 at the 2:57 mark, Sonmez and Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers to start a 9-0 spurt, which got the Highlanders as close as nine (64-55) with 1:05 to play.
Both teams finished with 10 steals, while Florida controlled the glass, 37-30.
Radford will enjoy a six-day break for the holiday before returning home for a 7 p.m. contest with Dickinson on Dec. 28.