Freshman guard Bradley Beal had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore guard/forward Casey Prather scored 14 points to lead Florida to a 71-45 victory over Virginia in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the CenturyLink Center Omaha on Friday afternoon.
Sophomore forward center Patric Young added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Gators.
Senior forward Mike Scott was the only player to score in double figures for Virginia with 15 points and he had a team-high six rebounds.
Florida, the No. 7 seed in the West Region, improved its overall record to 24-10 with the victory.
The loss ended Virginia’s 2011-12 season and dropped the Cavaliers’ overall record to 22-10. UVa was the No. 10 seed in the West Region.
Florida closed the first half on a 17-4 run to take a 30-22 halftime lead. Five different players scored in that stretch for the Gators with Beal and senior guard Erving Walker each scoring four points.
After the Cavaliers closed to within six in the second half at 36-30 with 17:31 left to play, Florida went on 17-2 run to take control of the game. Beal led the Gators with six points during that stretch as Florida built its lead to 53-32 with 9:14 remaining to play.
Virginia got no closer than 19 points the rest of the way.
Florida shot 52.8 percent (28-53) from the field for the game, including 17.4 percent (4-23) from three-point range, and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the free-throw line. The Gators shot 69.6 percent (16-23) from the field in the second half.
Florida also out-rebounded the Cavaliers 39-23. The Gators scored 44 of their points in the paint.
Virginia shot 38.3 percent (18-47) from the field, including 16.7 percent (3-18) from three-point range, and 60 percent (6-10) from the free-throw line.
The Cavaliers NCAA Tournament appearance was their first since 2007 and their 17th overall. Virginia’s 22 wins this season were the most for the Cavaliers since winning 25 games during the 1994-95 season.
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