Austin, TX (Sports Network) - Erik Murphy scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds, and Florida used a strong second half to cruise past Northwestern State, 79-47, in South Region second-round action of the NCAA Tournament.

Patric Young poured in 16 points and pulled down nine boards for the third- seeded Gators (27-7), who held Northwestern State to just 15 points in the final 20 minutes of play to move on to face either UCLA or Minnesota in Sunday's third round.

DeQuan Hicks had 12 points and eight rebounds for the 14th-seeded Demons (23-9), who trailed by eight at halftime but struggled to slow down the Gators thereafter.

Northwestern State was appearing in its first NCAA Tournament in seven years after winning the Southland Conference Tournament title.

GAME NOTES:

The Sports Network