National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida 45, Auburn 40
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 20, 2011
Where: Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama
Officials: # Patrick Adams, # Garry Maxwell, # Mike Stuart
Attendance: 6876

Erving Walker hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining as Florida held on for a 45-40 victory over host Auburn on Thursday.

With the Gators (14-4, 3-1 SEC) trailing by three in the back-and-forth contest, Walker assisted on Kenny Boynton's 3-pointer with 1:53 left. Auburn's Rob Chubb missed a jumper that would have put the Tigers (7-11, 0-4) back in front and teammate Allen Payne was stripped by Walker, who promptly went back down the floor and hit the go-ahead 3.

Auburn had a chance to pull back even, but Earnest Ross turned the ball over with less than a minute left, then missed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Walker hit a pair of free throws to ice the game as Florida won for the sixth time in the past seven games.

Walker had a game-high 12 points to pace the Gators, who earned the victory despite shooting a woeful 28.3 percent (15 for 53) from the field while hitting 5 of 26 attempts from the beyond the arc. Walker was the only Florida player to finish in double figures; Boynton had nine points while Alex Tyus chipped in with seven.

Kenny Gabriel had 12 points for the Tigers, who led by as many as seven points but failed to score over the final seven minutes of the first half. Ross added 11 points in a reserve role.

Auburn shot 37.5 percent, and made 1 of 8 free throws.

The 45 points was Florida's lowest output in coach Billy Donovan's 14-plus seasons.
Top Game Performances
 
Florida   Auburn
Erving Walker 12 Scoring Kenny Gabriel 12
Kenny Boynton 3 Assists Chris Denson 4
Vernon Macklin 6 Rebounds Allen Payne 6
Alex Tyus 5 Free Throws Made Allen Payne 1
Kenny Boynton 1 Steals Earnest Ross 3
Chandler Parsons 1 Blocks Rob Chubb 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Florida 45 28.3 5-26 10-14 9 34 5 5
Auburn 40 37.5 3-11 1-8 9 27 2 9