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Vanderbilt upsets No. 16 Florida

Feb 29, 2012 - 7:41 AM Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - John Jenkins had a game-high 22 points to lead Vanderbilt past No. 16 Florida, 77-67, on Tuesday.

Jeffery Taylor contributed 18 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Commodores (21-9, 10-5 SEC), who clinched a first-round bye in the SEC tournament with the victory. Festus Ezeli added 11 points in the win.

"Our guys made tough shots for us," said Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings. "We got to the foul line, which was key, and did a good job there for the most part."

The Commodores shot 73.1 percent (19-of-26) from the free-throw line.

Bradley Beal paced the Gators (22-8, 10-5) with 16 points, Erving Walker netted 15 and Kenny Boynton had 11. Florida dropped its second straight, after a 76-62 loss to Georgia on Saturday.

After allowing the Bulldogs to shoot 52.9 percent from the field, the highest an opponent has shot this season, the Gators allowed Vandy to post a 52.3 percent mark.

"I was as disappointed as I've ever been as a coach watching our guys walking off the court in Athens [Georgia]," said Florida head coach Billy Donovan. "I felt the total opposite here tonight. I thought we competed. I thought we played hard against a very good team."

The Commodores began the second half on a 9-3 run after leading 30-27 at the break, but Florida didn't go away.

The Gators rolled off five straight to begin a 9-3 run of their own, and after a Jenkins three-pointer put Vanderbilt up by six, UF scored 11 of the next 15 to take a 50-49 lead.

Ezeli knocked down two free throws to put the hosts back on top by one before Florida's Erik Murphy sank a layup 13 seconds later.

Jenkins, the SEC's leading scorer entering the game with 20 points per game, followed with another trey, but Murphy responded with a three-pointer of his own.

Vanderbilt then pulled away, as Taylor's trey and a layup by Kedren Johnson began a 17-9 spurt to put the Commodores in front for good.

Game Notes

Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 64-60...Florida won 73-65 in the season's first encounter between these programs on Feb. 4th...Florida entered the game leading the NCAA with 10.1 three-point makes per game, but shot 33.3 percent (8-of-24) on Tuesday.