GAINSVILLE, Fla., Nov. 20 ? Davis Baker led all scorers with 23 points, 21 in the second half, and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds but Southern Utah came up short in its upset bid against No. 18 Florida Thursday night, 64-50.
    SUU played tenacious defense against the Gators, limiting them to 46 percent shooting overall, including a season-worst 6.3 percent from 3-point range. The Thunderbirds held Florida to 1-of-16 shooting from 3-point range and nearly snapped the Gators' streak of 545 straight games with a three. Dan Werner finally hit a deep triple from the top of the key with 23 seconds to play, however, to continue the streak. It was Florida's final field goal.
    “I really liked our effort tonight, on both ends of the floor,” SUU Coach Roger Reid said. “We're disappointed to lose but encouraged by the way the guys competed. We were able to stay within one rebound (31-30) of a team that had a significant size advantage against us. I was also pleased with the way we defended their 3-point shooting. One of our goals coming into the game was not to get beat by the 3-point shot and we did a good job in that area.”
    Southern Utah was also at a significant disadvantage from the free throw line, as the Gators shot 27 free throws, hitting 17, while SUU attempted just five and were able to knock down three. SUU hit 5-of-16 3-pointers, and 21-of-49 shots overall.
    Florida led by as many as 16 points in the first half but the Thunderbirds cut the deficit to 33-25 at halftime. The Gators held the Thunderbirds to just one field goal in the first six minutes of the second half in building a 17-point advantage, however, and although SUU got back to within 10 down the stretch they could get no closer as Florida closed out the victory.
    Mike Josserand led SUU with six assists, while Dave Marek had five as the Thunderbirds saw their record even at 1-1 on the season. Florida, which was led by Nick Calathes' 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, moved to 3-0 with the win.