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Updated: Monday, December 23, 2002 7:50 PM EST
NCAA BASKETBALL RECAP
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(13) Florida 74, Charleston Sou 62
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN BUCCANEERS
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
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FLORIDA GATORS
Florida Gators
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GAINESVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Florida needed a little extra time to recover from its double-overtime thriller against Miami.

Matt Bonner scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half as the 13th-ranked Gators recovered from a slow start to post a 74-62 victory over Charleston Southern.

Florida (9-2), playing its second game in three days, had one day to prepare for its encounter with Charleston Southern after outlasting Miami, 94-93, in double overtime on Saturday. The Gators improved to 3-0 this season when having one day or less to get ready for a contest.

"I knew coming in here that we would be very much challenged in this basketball game," said Gators coach Billy Donovan, who coached his 200th game at Florida. "I know there are terms you use such as 'cupcake', but I knew that was not going to happen there tonight based on watching film on Charleston Southern and the understanding of the elements we were dealing with - a double overtime game, a lot of guys playing a lot of minutes and the guys getting ready to get out of here for a few days."

"Fatigue was an issue for me," Bonner said. "It wasn't physical, like coach said, it was mental, coming off an emotional double-overtime game. That's my fault. I'm a senior that shouldn't happen. I came out a little lethargic in the first half and wasn't as focused as I should have been."

The Buccaneers (4-4) led for most of the game, but the Gators outscored them, 44-30, in the second half to win their fifth consecutive contest.

Charleston Southern went on a 10-0 run to erase a three-point deficit and take a 14-7 lead with 13:32 left. The Buccaneers used a 9-0 spurt to push their advantage to 30-20 with 5:05 before intermission.

Florida took its first since lead since early in the first half with 10:47 remaining in the second half on Brett Nelson's free throw that made it that made it 50-49.

Matt Walsh snapped a 54-54 tie with a jumper with 7:20 left, starting an 18-6 run that gave Florida a 72-60 advantage with 46 seconds remaining.

"It's difficult over 40 minutes," Buccaneers coach Jim Platt said. "I thought as the game went on, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game, we gave them some looks and those guys are just incredible shooters and so it kind of wore on us. I thought that their superiority shone through in the last few minutes."

Walsh finished with 14 points and fellow freshman Anthony Roberson added 16 for the Gators, who won their ninth straight game at home and 34th in a row here against non-conference foes. They also notched their 19 consecutive winter break contest and improved to 4-0 all-time against Charleston Southern.

Kevin Warzynski led the Buccaneers with 16 points and Trent Drafts contributed 11.

Charleston Southern has lost three straight games after starting the season 4-1.

"Well, that was a good basketball game from start to finish," Platt said. "I'm appreciative of our team because I thought they came into Gainesville and competed... To play three games in a row - Michigan, Tennessee and Florida - all on the road - is a tough stretch for us and we were hopeful that we could continue to become more competitive as time went on, and I thought we took another step forward today."

Justin Hamilton scored 13 points as the Gators shot 58 percent (15-of-26) from the field in the second half to finish at 49 percent overall (26-of-53). They attempted 29 3-pointers, making 12.

Charles White had 10 points for the Buccaneers, who shot 46 percent (27-of-58), but were just 5-of-20 (25 percent) from 3-point range. They scored 22 points off 18 Florida and outscored the Gators in second-chance points, 13-0.


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