Florida Falls to Auburn in Blowout SEC Championship Loss
Photo: Florida head coach Todd Golden; Credit: Zach Goodall
Looking to win their first SEC Championship since 2014, the Florida Gators trailed by just one point early in the second half against the Auburn Tigers.
However, the Tigers’ offense took over as they got whatever they wanted in the paint and went on a 15-4 run to take control of the game. UF never got the lead within single digits as Auburn won the title game, 86-67.
Zyon Pullin led Florida in scoring with 15 points (4-for-14) as UF shot just 36.4% from the floor and 7.7% from three (1-for-13). Auburn shot 50.8% overall, and 31.6% from beyond the arc.
The Gators went down 7-2 early in the game, before Micah Handlogten hit the floor trying to hold onto the ball. He remained on the floor before being taken off on a stretcher. The injury was reported to be a fractured lower leg injury.
Florida started just 2-for-14 from the floor, but the Gators' defense helped keep the deficit at just six midway through the first half.
Tyrese Samuel stole an Auburn inbound pass and took off for a transition layup to end Florida's cold streak shooting the ball. Auburn's lead swelled to 10 after Chaney Johnson buried a triple and Johni Broome battled inside for a layup.
Both sides entered an offensive lull late in the first half as both sides went three minutes without recording a made field goal.
Thomas Haugh caught a pass in transition and scored a three-point play to cut the Auburn lead to just seven. Haugh later rose up for a put-back slam dunk to make it a 9-2 Florida run.
UF went into halftime down 38-30 to the Tigers. Florida shot just 28% from the floor in the first half and were 0-for-7 from three-point range. The Tigers also struggled to make shots as they shot 39% overall.
Aden Holloway opened the second half by knocking down a three, but Pullin responded with a three-point play.
Walter Clayton Jr. pulled up from deep and knocked down Florida's first triple of the game to cut the deficit to one early in the second half.
Florida cut the deficit to one but Auburn regained some breathing room after a 7-0 run in just a minute-long span. Tre Donaldson buried a three from the logo and Denver Jones dunked it in transition.
UF head coach Todd Golden called timeout with his side down 52-44 with 14:06 left in the game.
Donaldson pulled up from deep again and drained it to move the run to 10-0 and give the Tigers an 11-point lead. Clayton scored a layup to end the run.
Auburn continued to penetrate Florida's defense and went 10-for-11 from the floor mid way through the second half. Three of the shots came from beyond the arc, while the other seven were layups and dunks.
The Tigers' blazing offense continued to prove to much for Florida as they made three straight field goals to move their lead to 76-59 with just 5:18 left in the game.
The Gators worked to chip into the lead but their efforts were too late, as the Tigers won the SEC Championship. Florida fell to 24-11 (11-7 SEC) after the title game loss, and will await their seeding and matchup for March Madness Sunday night.
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