At the Buzzer: Florida 73, Arkansas 59
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 73, ARKANSAS 59
FLORIDA 73, ARKANSAS 59
WHAT HAPPENED: Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson tallied 24 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season and went 15 of 17 from the free-throw line Tuesday night, as the Gators withstood a furious rally by the visiting Razorbacks to get out of Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center with a big Southeastern Conference victory. Sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists and sophomore shooting guard Noah Locke had 11 first-half points for UF, which shot 50 percent from the floor for a third consecutive game and put things away but outscoring Arkansas 19-9 over the final seven-plus minutes. The Gators came out with hot hands, hitting 11 of their first 17 field-goal attempts and five of seven from the 3-point line to take a 19-point lead, despite grad-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. taking a seat two minutes into the game with his second foul (both on illegal screens) and Johnson joining him with 10 minutes to go. The margin still was 17 with five minutes to play in the period when the home team went cold and the visitors heated up. Arkansas, taking advantage of some transition opportunities, went on a 12-2 run to end the period, while UF missed its last five field goals. Seven minutes into the second half, the Hogs had the margin down to two before the Gators worked it back out to six just in time for Blackshear to get smacked with his fourth foul with 9:33 to go. UF, though, put together a run of buckets and stops, ripping off 10 straight points (6 by Johnson, 4 by Nembhard) to turn a four-point edge into a 14-point edge with 3:38 remaining. Johnson finished four of seven from the floor, hit one of three attempts from the arc, and his 15 free-throw makes and 17 attempts were both far and away career highs. Arkansas was led by guard Mason Jones, the SEC scoring leader, who finished with 21 points.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Johnson, fabulous on his way to a third double-double in the last four games, was aggressive and take-charge when the Gators needed someone to be. Ultimately, though, he shared the spotlight with the officials. They called 40 fouls, albeit it evenly (Florida 18, Arkansas 22) and prevented any flow whatsoever to develop in the game.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: UF extended its mastery of Arkansas at the O'Dome to 14 straight games. The Hogs have not won in Gainesville since Nolan Richardson, Corliss Williamson and Scotty Thurman came to town as reigning NCAA champions on Feb. 28, 1995, and left with a 94-85 victory. That's 25 years ago. UF coach Mike White was a senior at New Orleans Jesuit High at the time.
UP NEXT: Florida (17-9, 9-4) enters not only the home stretch of the SEC schedule, but the most difficult stretch, starting with Saturday's road trip at No. 12 Kentucky, where the Gators have won just once since 2015 (and only twice the last 10 seasons). The Wildcats (20-5, 10-2), alone atop the SEC standings, play late Tuesday night at second-place LSU. After Saturday, UF still will have at least three more Q-1 chances, including two more next week (home vs LSU, then at Tennessee).
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