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Florida rolls past Alabama

Mar 2, 2011 - 3:27 AM Gainesville, FL (Sports Network) - Vernon Macklin totaled 19 points and six rebounds as No. 14 Florida rolled by Alabama, 78-51, at O'Connell Center.

Chandler Parsons added 19 points with 11 boards for the Gators (23-6, 12-3 SEC), who recovered from a loss at Kentucky last Saturday and have won seven of eight.

Florida, which clinched a share of the SEC title, can win it outright in its regular-season finale at Vanderbilt on March 5.

Trevor Releford scored 17 points and Tony Mitchell had 14 with eight rebounds for the Crimson Tide (19-10, 11-4), who have dropped two in a row after winning four straight. Alabama's finale is also this coming Saturday, in Tuscaloosa hosting Georgia.

JaMychal Green's layup pulled the Tide within 39-38 with less than five minutes played in the second half, but Florida pulled away from there.

Kenny Boynton's triple ignited a 17-4 run for the Gators that saw Parsons also contribute a pair from long distance. Macklin's slam with 9;04 remaining gave the home team a 56-42 edge and it was never close the rest of the way.

Alex Tyus finished off a three-point play with 6:07 to go which provided Florida with a 20-point bulge at 64-44 and Erving Walker's layup inside the final minute forged the eventual winning margin of 27.

A 12-5 run at the end of the first half got Alabama a 30-27 lead after a Mitchell dunk, but a trey from Boynton tied the game at the break.

Game Notes

Florida has won 16 of the last 19 meetings...Boynton finished 4-for-8 from long range as part of a 14-point performance...Green posted 10 points and nine rebounds for Alabama.