Donovan eyes milestone, as Gators battle Hatters

Nov 28, 2011 - 4:31 PM Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - The Florida Gators will attempt to earn head coach Billy Donovan his 400th career coaching win as they take on the Stetson Hatters tonight at the Amway Center in Orlando.

Florida is 4-1 overall and has posted three consecutive victories since its lone defeat, a seven-point setback to national powerhouse Ohio State on the road. On Friday, the Gators were completely dominant from start to finish in a 107-62 romp over Jacksonville.

Stetson has been idle since last Monday when it lost to Charleston Southern by a 73-64 final. That defeat dropped the Hatters to 3-2 overall, and their only other matchup with a ranked team to date resulted in a 79-66 setback to Florida State.

Florida has won its last 16 meetings with Stetson and owns a 51-14 advantage in the all-time series.

Coach Donovan has benefited from the presence of six double-digit scorers, and Kenny Boynton leads the pack with his 19.6 ppg on 53.3 percent shooting from the field, including 51.4 percent from three-point range. Bradley Beal checks in with 16.0 ppg, while Mike Rosario adds 12.4 ppg. Erving Walker (12.2 ppg, 5.2 apg), Patric Young (10.4 ppg) and Erik Murphy (10.0 ppg) round out the group for Florida, which is generating 89.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 64.4 ppg on 39.4 percent field goal efficiency. A key to the team's success has been rebounding, as the Gators are ripping down 11.4 rpg more than the opposition. Against Jacksonville last time out, Boyton (22 points) and Walker (21 points) led the way offensively. UF shot 55.2 percent from the field and finished with 20 assists against seven turnovers.

Through five games, Stetson is scoring 69.4 ppg while yielding 68.2 ppg on 39.9 percent shooting from the field. Adam Pegg leads the Hatters in scoring with 12.6 ppg on 55.3 percent shooting from the field. Aaron Graham adds 11.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg to the mix, while Chris Perez pitches in 10.0 ppg. Stetson has been solid on the boards, outrebounding foes by 5.4 rpg. Against Charleston Southern last time out, the Hatters hit 13-of-26 three-pointers, but a disappointing 7-of-15 showing from the foul line and 26 turnovers led to the defeat. Graham netted 17 points in the setback, while Joel Naburgs posted 12 points.