By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla.(AP) -- Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker and Alex
Tyus scored 13 points apiece as Florida beat Florida State 68-52
Tuesday night and snapped a three-game losing streak in the
series.

The Gators opened up a 20-point lead at halftime - playing the
kind of defense coach Billy Donovan wanted to see the last two
years - and put the game away with another defensive-led spurt
in the second half.

Florida (4-0) now gets its toughest challenge of the season when
it plays No. 2 Michigan State on Friday in Atlantic City in the
Legends Classic.

Derwin Kitchen, a former Florida signee who never played in
Gainesville, led the Seminoles (3-1) with 15 points. Chris
Singleton added 14.

The Seminoles, outplayed in every aspect in the first 20
minutes, came to life to start the second half. They started
pressing, forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets. The result
was a 19-2 run that nearly erased a 20-point halftime deficit.

But the play of the game may have been a charge. Yes, a charge.

Dan Werner stopped a 2-on-1 break by drawing a charge on Jordan
DeMercy. FSU had a chance to cut the lead to 45-40. Instead,
Werner's play sparked another strong defensive effort from the
Gators and a 12-0 run that put them out front 55-38.

Tyus hit a jumper, Walker got a steal and a reverse layup, then
added another layup on a behind-the-back pass from Ray Shipman.

It was just getting started, too. Boynton converted a
three-point play, Chandler Parsons hit a 3 from the corner and
Walker's uncontested drive through the lane made it 61-41 with
about 5 minutes remaining.

The Gators shot 46 percent from the field and held FSU to 33
percent shooting.

Florida played its most inspired first half in more than two
years.

The Gators pressed Florida State into mistake after mistake.
Errant throws, traveling calls, 10-second violations, FSU found
several ways to turn the ball over. The Seminoles had twice as
many turnovers (16) as shots made (8) in the opening 20 minutes.

The Gators, meanwhile, were getting easy shots all over the
court.

Tyus, who sprained an ankle in Florida's last game, showed no
trouble getting up and down the floor. He had eight points and
five rebounds, Shipman added eight points off the bench and the
Gators led 39-19 at the break. They were 16 of 31 shooting, had
eight offensive boards and did just about everything right to
start the game.

The Seminoles, behind 10 points from Singleton, led early. But
the Gators put together an 18-2 run to pull away. FSU went more
than 6 minutes without a basket and couldn't find an answer for
Florida's pressing defense and up-tempo offense.

Donovan's team really started pulling away when it got hot from
long range. Shipman and Walker hit consecutive 3-pointers.
Walker, the shortest guy on the court, was left alone for two
layups. Werner added a pair of 3s in the final minutes.