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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Atlantic coach Sidney Green
looked on the court and envisioned his program's future. Then, he
looked at the scoreboard and saw the present.
The second part wasn't pretty.
In what might have been the mismatch of the month, if not the
season, Matt Bonner scored 21 points Monday night to lead Florida (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, AP) to a 100-42 victory over Green's young Florida Atlantic
team.
"We saw what big-time basketball was all about," Green said.
"Florida took us out of everything right from the start. That's
what it's all about. It's the kind of style we'll eventually play
at Florida Atlantic."
Like most big-name teams, the Gators (2-0) have a series of soft
marks on their early schedule. A 2-28 finisher last year in the
Trans-America Athletic Conference, Florida Atlantic (1-4) fit right
in.
Green, a former star at UNLV and in the NBA, is in his second
season as coach of the program based in Boca Raton. With his
recruiting plans clearly in their infancy, he might still be the
best player on the Owls bench.
They could have used him in uniform for this one.
The Gators matched the fourth-largest victory margin in program
history, and allowed the fewest points since the shot clock was
introduced.
"Let's be realistic," Green said. "We've got four freshmen
out on the floor at one time. They've got 10 players who could all
be All-Americans."
The ugliness began early -- Teddy Dupay hit a 3-pointer just 6
seconds into the game -- and continued in full force, as the Gators
trapped the Owls into nearly as many first-half turnovers (15) as
they scored points (17).
Meanwhile, Florida suffered no early malaise, the way some teams
do when they know they've got an overmatched opponent. They scored
13 of the first 15 points and led 41-8 with 6 minutes left in the
first half. Within 15 minutes, Green had used four of his five
timeouts to try to slow the onslaught.
"Our guys came out and set the tone, we stayed on top of them,
and the game got out of control at the end of the half," Florida
coach Billy Donovan said. "I was pleased with the focus our guys
showed."
Things get much more difficult for the Gators beginning
Saturday. Florida's next three games are against DePaul, Michigan State (No. 2 ESPN/USA Today, No. 3 AP) and Rutgers. Donovan said the team looked good
despite a 10-day break, and he was as comfortable as a coach could
be going into the tough stretch.
"I think our guys understand, having played those teams last
year, what it's going to be like," Donovan said.
Florida's only lull against FAU came midway through the second
half. When Robert Williams tipped in a teammate's miss to cut the
lead to 73-34, Donovan sent all five starters back to the scorer's
table to check in.
The Gators led by 51 points just four minutes later, a rally
that included an ugly little scene -- Daryl Dingle's rough
intentional foul on Florida's Udonis Haslem. As a result, Haslem
went after Dingle, but was restrained by his teammates.
Justin Hamilton scored 12 points and got the most highlight-reel
clips out of the game. He had four thundering dunks, including a
swooping jam from the baseline that put the Gators ahead 57-17.
Florida got 17 points each from Brent Wright, Haslem and Dupay.
Wright added 11 rebounds and Haslem had 10. Highly touted recruit
Bonell Colas saw his first action of the season and scored six
points.
Jeff Cowans led Florida Atlantic with 13 points, but shared the
same shooting woes as the rest of his teammates. He shot 4-for-17,
and the Owls made just 26 percent of their shots from the field.
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