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Brewer leads Florida over Western Kentucky

Nov 25, 2006 - 5:42 AM LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Ticker) -- Florida appeared ripe for an upset, but Corey Brewer had other ideas.

Brewer scored 20 points and sparked a big first-half surge to lead the top-ranked Gators to a 101-68 rout of Western Kentucky.

Florida (6-0) matched a school record with its 17th consecutive victory dating to last season and goes for No. 18 on Saturday night against 12th-ranked Kansas.

The defending national champions had won their first five games by an average of 42 points, but Western Kentucky, which entered unbeaten, wasn't about to roll over in the first half.

The Hilltoppers nailed six 3-pointers - two each by Benson Callier and Ty Rogers - to take a 26-22 lead midway through the opening 20 minutes.

Brewer quickly took charge, scoring a pair of baskets and assisting on another in a 13-0 run that put the Gators ahead to stay, 35-26.

Over the final nine minutes of the half, Florida outscored Western Kentucky, 28-6, to take a 50-32 lead at the break. Brewer ended the run with a 3-pointer with eight seconds left.

Meanwhile, Western Kentucky went cold, missing their last six shots from 3-point range.

Florida started to find its stroke from the arc at the outset of the second half. Lee Humphrey, Taurean Green and Brewer each hit 3-pointers to extend the margin to 59-36 just 2:03 into the half and the Hilltoppers never got the lead under 20 points thereafter.

Green scored 17 points and Al Horford added 16 and 11 rebounds for the Gators, who shot 61 percent (37-of-61) from the field in eclipsing 100 points for the first time this season.

Joakim Noah, Humphrey and Chris Richard were also in double figures with 10 points apiece for Florida, which hit 20-of-22 free throws and enjoyed a 44-21 rebounding edge.

Courtney Lee scored 16 points and Callier added 15 for Western Kentucky, which shot 38 percent (23-of-60).