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Elite 8 2013: Florida Gators End Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella Run to Advance

By Josh Sanchez

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Mar 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Florida Gators guard Kenny Boynton (1) celebrates a play with Will Yeguete (15) and Patric Young (4) against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the first half during the semifinals of the South regional of the 2013 NCAA Tournament at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Florida Gators guard Kenny Boynton (1) celebrates a play with Will Yeguete (15) and Patric Young (4) against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the first half during the semifinals of the South regional of the 2013 NCAA Tournament at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

The magic has finally run out for America’s darling team, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. After a magical run that included upset wins over Georgetown and San Diego State, the Eagles ran into the No. 3 seed Florida Gators. Florida Gulf Coast jumped out to an early lead, but they were unable to hang on once Florida turned up their efforts and began to run away with the game.

In the end, the Gators took down the Eagles 62-50.

The big story for Florida Gulf Coast was turnovers. The Eagles were unable to move the ball in transition against the tough Gators defense and their recklessness with the ball led to easy buckets for Florida.

[Download the updated 2013 NCAA Tournament bracket here]

With the win, Florida advances to face Michigan in the regional final.

It was a great run for Florida Gulf Coast, who was one of the most entertaining teams in recent tournament history, but we knew it had to come to an end eventually. Florida Gulf Coast became the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 in tournament history, so they can hang their hat on that.

The play that ended any hopes of an Eagles comeback was a nifty inbound play from Mike Rosario that we would have expected to see from the Eagles. Here is the play that did them in:

Thanks for a fun tournament, Florida Gulf Coast. It was a pleasure to watch you shock the world and capture our imagination. No one would have ever imagined that this team would make such a deep run. Job well done, but the clock strikes midnight on every Cinderella story.

Be sure to stay tuned to FanSided.com throughout the entire tournament as we keep you up to date with the latest results.

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