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Gators defeat No. 6 Kansas State

Dec 19, 2010 - 12:46 AM Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - Kenny Boynton scored 15 points and Florida used a big second half to beat No. 6 Kansas State, 57-44, in the Orange Bowl Classic.

Erving Walker added 13 points and Vernon Macklin scored 10 for the Gators (8-2), who have won three straight games since their loss to UCF on December 1.

Jacob Pullen led all scorers with 19 points for the Wildcats (9-2), who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Florida trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and was behind, 23-20, at the break despite holding Kansas State to 32 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes.

The Gators took control of the game with a 20-6 run to open the second half, moving out to a 40-29 lead on Erik Murphy's layup midway through the frame.

Macklin scored eight of his 10 points during the spurt, while Boynton and Chandler Parsons both had four.

Florida locked down at the other end, too, holding the Wildcats without a field goal for the first 9:06 of the half.

Kansas State got as close as seven points, but the Gators responded with a 12-1 run, highlighted by a pair of Boynton three-pointers, to take an 18-point lead with 4:09 remaining.

The Wildcats were never closer than the final score, shooting just 22 percent in the second half and 27 percent for the game. Their only previous loss this season was to No. 1 Duke last month.

It was the fifth game in a row Florida held its opponent to 57 points or fewer.

Game Notes

This was the first-ever meeting between these teams...Florida shot 54 percent from the field...The Gators committed 18 turnovers while forcing nine...Rodney McGruder had a game-high nine rebounds for Kansas State.