Gators Produce 15-Point Victory Over Ole Miss to Snap Three-Game Skid
Photo: Kowacie Reeves Jr.; Credit: Zach Goodall
Despite star forward Colin Castleton's untimely exit (right-hand injury) early in the second half, the Gators cruised to a victory over the Ole Miss Rebels at home on Wednesday night, 79-64.
Without its leading scorer on the season, Florida was supplemented by a bevy of scorers en route to the 15-point victory.
Five Gators finished with double-digit points, including Myreon Jones (15), Will Richard (13), Kowacie Reeves Jr. (13), Riley Kugel (12) and Kyle Lofton (10). The quartet combined for 63 of the 79 total points on the night.
Jones led the way with 15, going 5-for-7 from downtown.
The game started slow for the Gators on the offensive end as they struggled to take care of the basketball against Ole Miss' constant on-ball pressure. Producing nine first-half turnovers, they sputtered before finding a groove in the later portion of the opening 20 minutes.
They found that rhythm offensively when the Rebels deployed a 1-3-1 zone. Using an offensive set that created an open runner on the backside, the Gators began to find cracks in the tight-knit interior defense to that point.
Until then, Florida was kept afloat by increased efficiency shooting from the perimeter, connecting on five of its eight first-half attempts.
Florida entered the locker room shooting 66.7% from the floor after rattling nine straight shot attempts to take a ten-point lead over the Rebels.
That came despite two points on two shot attempts from big man Colin Castleton, who was erased by the constant double teams he faced on the interior, and 11 offensive rebounds by Ole Miss to get up 13 more shot attempts (34) than the Gators (21).
UF had just one.
Ole Miss returned to Billy Donovan Court with intention offensively.
Attacking the deep post, the Rebels found the bottom on the net on their first five shot attempts of the second period while the Gators returned to their sluggish early game form.
The 39-29 halftime deficit was quickly cut to two out of the break, 41-39.
However, following a timeout from head coach Todd Golden, the Gators regroup to retake a convincing double-digit lead. They did so without Castleton for the final 15:05, with Jason Jitoboh playing 17 minutes in his place.
The evening, albeit sloppy at points, proved to be the rebound victory Florida needed to regain momentum and snap a three-game losing streak.
A lob from Kyle Lofton to a soaring Kugel midway through the second half highlighted the outing for Florida, taking the lid off the contest for good. Reserve forward Aleks Szymczyk added the first SEC bucket of his career to provide a late exclamation point.
Florida regain its footing on the defensive end to force Ole Miss to connect on below 40% of its attempts while shooting at a high clip, knocking down 59% of shots from the field and going 10-for-17 from beyond the arc.
The Gators will look to continue the hot offensive production as they hit the road for a crucial matchup with Arkansas to spark their dwindling NCAA Tournament hopes.
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