Gators headed back to championship game

Apr 1, 2007, 3:15 GMT

Atlanta, GA - Corey Brewer scored 19 points and Lee Humphrey added 14 to lead the defending national champion Florida Gators over the UCLA Bruins, 76-66, in Final Four action of the NCAA Tournament.

The duo shot a combined 10-of-18, including 8-of-13 from three, for Florida (34-5), which will now have the chance to become the first back-to-back champions since Duke won its second of consecutive titles in 1992 when it faces Ohio State on Monday. The Buckeyes beat Georgetown, 67-60, in the first semifinal of the night, setting up a familiar title tilt.

It was in January when Florida's football program beat heavily favored Ohio State to come away with the Bowl Championship Series national title.

In a rematch of last year's national title game that the Gators easily won, 73-57, UCLA (30-6) again barely put up a fight. The Bruins' leader Aaron Afflalo was in foul trouble most of the night, ending with 17 points that all came in the second half. Josh Shipp led UCLA with 18 points.

Joakim Noah ended with eight points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and Chris Richard had 16 points for the Gators, who have won nine straight overall, 11 in a row in the NCAA Tournament and 17 straight single-elimination games that includes two SEC Tournament titles.

'We're just going to go back, get a good rest, and rest our bodies,' said Florida head coach Billy Donovan, whose been rumored to take the Kentucky job when the Gators' run is over. 'The coaches will be watching tape. We're familiar with Ohio State since we played them this year...Ohio State is a great team. It should be a great match-up.'

Al Horford added nine points and 17 boards and Taureen Green had 10 points for Florida, which broke open a close game in the second half.

The Bruins controlled the pace of the game early on, holding a 6-2 lead with just over 7 1/2 minutes elapsed in the contest. However, action picked up over the final 12-plus minutes and Florida benefited.

After Afflalo picked up his third foul of the game with 11:26 left in the first half, the Bruins hung in there thanks to Shipp, whose layup with 6:36 on the clock tied the game at 16.

Brewer, though, sparked a 10-0 run with a three-pointer as the Gators opened up a 26-16 lead after Noah hit 1-of-2 free throws with 3:28 left. Florida used that momentum to hold on for a 29-23 halftime lead.

The Gators then opened it up in the second half. Ahead 32-28, Florida ran off 12 straight points to put the game out of reach. Humphrey began the run with a three-pointer and Richard ended it with a dunk at the 13:52 mark for a 44-28 lead.

'This is what it's all about,' said Noah. 'We're really excited to be in this situation. We know it's not over yet. We're happy, but we're not satisfied.'

The lead later reached 18 points after a Richard three-point play with 9:02 left. UCLA tried to make it interesting, drawing within 10 points for the first time at 72-62 late in the game.

'They did a great job in the second half of gaining some separation from us in terms of when we were trailing players,' said UCLA head coach Ben Howland. 'They did a very good job in the second half on the board. In the first half, they had zero offensive rebounds. They didn't have an offensive rebound, and we forced them into 10 turnovers. The real problem for us was we didn't handle their switching defense very well offensively. If we had had a little more going offensively, it would have been better for us.'

Game Notes

Humphrey became the all-time leader in NCAA Tournament history in three-point baskets made with 43. He entered the game three shy of Bobby Hurley's 42...Shipp scored 14 first-half points...Florida and Ohio State played once earlier this season with the Gators coming away with an 86-60 victory in Gainesville...Richard hit all seven of his shots from the floor.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

.