Keyontae Johnson scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half as host Florida built a double-digit halftime lead en route to a 71-55 victory against undermanned Ole Miss on Tuesday night in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla.
It was fifth-year coach Mike White's 100th victory with the Gators. Only Billy Donovan (154 games) reached the milestone faster than White (158).
Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 13 points and nine rebounds and Andrew Nembhard added 10 points and six assists for the Gators (11-5, 3-1), who led by as many as 23 points in the second half while bouncing back from Saturday's blowout loss at Missouri.
Ole Miss (9-7, 0-3) played without guard and leading scorer Breein Tyree (back contusion) and forward Khadim Sy (coach's decision) in suffering a fourth straight defeat. Tyree is averaging 17.8 points overall and 26.5 in SEC games; Sy averages 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds.
KJ Buffen scored 20 points and Blake Hinson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Rebels.
The Gators scored the second half's first seven points -- Noah Locke's 3-pointer, Johnson's two free throws and Locke's jumper -- to go ahead 47-28 with 16:19 remaining. Ole Miss never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
Johnson and Nembhard (10 points) helped the Gators take a 40-28 halftime lead.
Florida scored 16 points off 11 Ole Miss turnovers in the first half and scored more points in the paint (30-10).
Trailing 24-23, the Gators closed with a 17-4 run during the final 7:06. Locke (nine points overall), Johnson, Nembhard each had four points in the spurt.
Florida will next play host to No. 4 Auburn on Saturday.
--Field Level Media
