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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Teddy Dupay put on a dazzling 3-point show, making seven of nine shots from behind the arc to finish with a season-high 21 points as Florida (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) routed Mississippi State 88-58 on Saturday night.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore, the leading scorer in Florida high
school history, made four straight 3-pointers to outscore
Mississippi State 12-2 during a three-minute stretch of the second
half.
He left the game after missing his last attempt, which he
launched from at least five feet behind the line.
The seven 3-pointers were a career-high for Dupay, and Florida
(20-5, 9-3 Southeastern Conference) finished 12-for-19 from beyond
the arc. Mississippi State (12-13, 3-9), by comparison, was
3-for-20.
The Gators reached the 20-win plateau in their 25th game, the
second-fastest pace in school history. The 1993-94 team reached it
in 24 games on the way to finishing with a school-record 23
regular-season victories.
Mississippi State led just once, 2-0, and saw its record fall
below .500 for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Tang
Hamilton led the Bulldogs with 18 points and Michael Gholar had 11.
Florida made its first five 3-point attempts and was 7-for-10
from beyond the arc, compared to Mississippi State's 1-for-10, at
the half. Things were going so well for the Gators that even
forward Brent Wright, a 24 percent 3-point shooter this season,
took what looked like an ill-advised 20-foot jumper and made it.
The Gators led 47-30 at the half with Donnell Harvey scoring 10
of his 14 points to pace a balanced attack in which six players
made 3-pointers.
Mississippi State, which has lost five straight since upsetting
LSU on Feb. 2, struggled against Florida's full-court pressure
defense, turning the ball over 20 times in addition to shooting
poorly.
The closest the Bulldogs got after falling behind 18-8 was three
midway through the opening half.
The Gators built their lead to 30 with eight minutes left,
running off 10 straight points before Dupay hit a 3-pointer to
finish a 15-2 surge. He made his next four 3-pointers as well,
bringing the sellout crowd of 11,156 to its feet.
Florida, which began the night one game behind first-place
Tennessee in the SEC East, has won 20 games for the second straight
season. It's only the third time in school history that that's
happened.
Mississippi State played without starting center Robert Jackson,
who had the flu.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Mississippi State Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
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