The Florida Gators’ victory over Texas A&M on Saturday lacked suspense, and hometown hero Kenny Boynton’s shooting was a major reason why.

Boynton, making his third return trip to Sunrise to play in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, scored a game-high 22 points to lead the 13th-ranked Gators to an 84-64 victory over No.22 Texas A&M at BankAtlantic Center.

A former star at Pompano Beach Ely and Plantation American Heritage, Boynton earned OB Classic MVP honors for the second year in a row, making 6 of12 three-point attempts and 2 of 2 free throws.

Florida (8-2) snapped the six-game winning streak brought in by Texas A&M (8-2), and Aggies coach Billy Kennedy was impressed.

“When [Boynton] is shooting threes from that deep, they are tough to beat,” Kennedy said. “Their quickness and athleticism gave us problems. We hadn’t faced anybody like that this year.”

The Gators needed only six minutes to build a double-digit lead and were up 50-25 at the half. The Aggies got no closer than 73-61 with 2:12 left in the game.

“The first half was the best we’ve played all year,” Gators coach Billy Donovan said. “We shared it. We passed it. We moved it.”

They shot it, too, making 55.2 percent from the field in the first half and 48.1 percent for the game. Boynton had 14 points in the first half, when the Gators stunned the Aggies.

“We allowed them to throw that first punch and get that big lead,” said Aggies forward Elston Turner, who had 20 points, tying him with David Loubeau for the Aggies’ scoring honors.

Loubeau, a Miami native who played his high school ball at Broward’s Westlake Prep, said he had about a dozen friends and family members in the crowd.

“It’s always good to play in front of family,” said Loubeau, a 6-8 forward who made 9 of 14 shots from the field and 2 of3 from the foul line. “But this trip wasn’t successful.”

Loubeau, who played travel ball with Boynton, called the Gators guard “a great player” and said he’s hard to stop because of his ability to shoot with range and get to the basket with a hesitation move.

Donovan was also impressed with Boynton, especially the way he has handled coming back home. The Gators are 2-1 in Boynton’s three trips back to Broward County.

“It says a lot about Boynton,” Donovan said, “that he stayed focused on what the team had to do to win.”

UF’s win came one day after Donovan’s contract was extended three years. His team has lost this season only to No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Ohio State, both close games on the road.

“I think we can,” Boynton said when asked if UF could get to the Final Four.