Florida Gators
Florida A&M
Men's Hoops Downs FAMU 91-58
Tuesday, December 31, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Senior Matt Bonner scored a team-high 18 points and sophomore David Lee added a double-double as the University of Florida men's basketball team defeated Florida A&M 91-58 Monday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
"In the second half I thought our team came out and played very unselfishly," head coach Billy Donovan said. "I thought our ball movement was very good and we played much better on defense which allowed us to get out on the break."
Lee recorded the second double-double of his career tonight with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Lee also contributed five assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
"The thing that is great about David is that he has such a good feel of how to play. When he catches the basketball he can get to the rim or he can find people," Donovan said. "I thought he was one of the reasons why we jumped out to a great lead in the second half because he dominated the backboard."
Florida held Florida A&M without a field goal for the first 5:20 of the second half, outscoring the Rattlers 19-2 in the first six minutes of the second half. Bonner came out in the second half and scored 10 of Florida's first 19 points as the Gators raced to a 59-30 lead. Bonner hit a season-high of four three pointers.
Senior guard Brett Nelson scored a season-high 11 points, marking the first double figure scoring output of the season. Senior Justin Hamilton moved into a tie for 10th place with Ronnie Montgomery with 138 career steals with his only steal of the night. Freshman forward Matt Walsh added 12 points for the Gators.
With the win the Gators tied a school record with most wins before entering SEC conference play and set a new school record with most wins before New Years Day. Florida has now won 11 consecutive games at home and 19 consecutive games against in-state rivals.
Florida travels to Mississippi State Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. The Gators will return home on Saturday, Jan. 11 as they host Georgia at 3 p.m. on Jefferson Pilot.
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