Florida Gators
Mississippi State
Gator men beat Miss State 76-48 to end skid
Sunday, February 3, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Bonner made his first seven shots and finished 9-for-15 from the field. He scored 20 of his points in the first half as the Gators (16-4, 5-3 SEC) jumped out to a 47-20 halftime advantage. The junior forward also made a career-high six three-pointers.
Head coach Billy Donovan said Bonner was Johnny-on-the-spot for the Gators.
"Matt Bonner was a product of being in the right place at the right time," Donovan said. "He made shots because our guys made the extra pass and our shot selection was very, very good. Besides that, he hustled, he did a great job on the glass and he did a great job on Mario Austin and their frontcourt."
Mississippi State (17-5, 4-4 SEC), which came in leading the SEC in field goal percentage, was held to 38 percent shooting by Bonner and company. Austin was the only Bulldog to score in double figures with 10 points.
Donovan praised junior guard Brett Nelson, who scored just seven points, but was credited with six assists. "We have so much firepower that, although Brett's a great scorer, he has the ability because people are constantly running at him and trying to take him out of the flow of the game, that if he finds open people he makes things go so much easier for everybody else."
The Gators capitalized by scoring 30 points off 20 Mississippi State turnovers. Florida made 8-of-20 attempts from beyond the arc while Mississippi State managed just three treys in 12 tries.
The consistent Udonis Haslem scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He now has 10 double-doubles this season. Off the Gator bench, David Lee scored nine points and Bonell Colas added six.
The Gators will visit South Carolina Tuesday night in Columbia. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET.
