Arkansas had no answers Tuesday night for the aggressive, downhill drives of UF forward Keyontae Johnson.
Johnson Drives Gators Past Hogs
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Arkansas coach Eric Musselman didn't have to put too much thought into when Tuesday night's game turned. On either occasion.
First time: When Florida forward Keyontae Johnson picked up his second foul with just under 11 minutes to go in the first half and had to take a seat.
Second time: When Johnson was back on the floor in the second half, then basically took over.
"He dominated the basketball game," Musselman said. "We had nobody who could guard him."
Johnson poured in 24 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds to notch his sixth double-double of the season, setting the tone for his teammates by relentlessly attacking the Razorbacks' defense on his way to making 15 of 17 free throws and leading the Gators to a 73-59 victory in their Southeastern Conference game at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including some big second-half buckets, plus seven rebounds and four assists, as Florida (17-9, 8-4) won a third straight in league play for the first time this season (as well as the fifth over the previous six games) and moved into a tie with LSU for third place in the league standings.
UF shot 50 percent for the game, including 63.2 in the second half, but had a 19-point first-half lead reduced twice to just two points in the second half before Johnson and Nembhard took control and dealt the Razorbacks (16-10, 4-9) a fifth straight defeat.
"We just tried to look to be aggressive going down the stretch and make plays for our team," Nembhard said. "It just ended up that we were the ones scoring."
Added Johnson: "When the play broke down, I just happened to get past my defenders and make the smart decision for my team."
Andrew Nembhard (2) hit seven of his 10 field goals and scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half.
The 6-foot-5, 231-pound Johnson posted his career-high in points despite taking just seven shots (and going 1-for-3 from the 3-point line) because of his aggression and the inability of the Arkansas defense to match his wicked first step and finishing strength at the rim. He had eight points and three boards in just over 10 first-half minutes, before taking his seat. In the second, he scored 16 and went 12-for-13 from the free-throw line.
"I mean, he takes seven shots and has 24 points," Musselman said. "He's so quick off the bounce. That's how he ended up with 17 foul shots. It's not like we told our guys he couldn't dribble drive. He's one of the best dribble-drivers in all of college basketball from the '4' spot. And if you're a lot quicker than somebody, and you're stronger, you're probably going to get 17 foul shots."
Johnson's trips to the line weren't factors in the first half. That's because UF made seven of its first 10 shots, including a trio of 3s from Noah Locke (11 points) to jump in front 21-7 before Johnson picked up his second foul and joined grad-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr., who was hit with two fouls in just two minutes.
Yet, even with their two leading scorers sidelined in foul trouble, the Gators surged to a 19-point lead, at 30-11, with 7:30 to play, thanks to 10-for-16 shooting start, while the Hogs hit just two of their first 15 field-goal attempts.
Eventually, the visitors heated up about the same time the hosts got cold.
Arkansas, which was led by 21 points from guard and SEC scoring leader Mason Jones and 16 points and eight rebounds from forward Adrio Bailey, went on a 15-3 run over the final seven minutes to close the UF margin to just seven by intermission. Twice in the second half, the Hogs made it a two-point game, the second time on a driving floater from Jones with 12:42 to play.
Jones, who Saturday scored 38 against Mississippi State and two weeks ago dropped 40 at Auburn, never seemed to get overly comfortable on offense while facing mostly freshman defensive wiz Scottie Lewis. He finished seven of 16 from the floor, 0-for-4 from the 3-point line and hit seven of 10 free throws. He also had five assists and four turnovers. Lewis countered with seven points and seven rebounds over a team-high 38 minutes of hard work on both ends.
"We came out a step slow on defense for, I'd say, the first 10," Nembhard said of the second half. "But the second 10 was better. We don't have to score as much when we're guarding like that."
Freshman wing Scottie Lewis (23) was terrific on defense while mostly shadowing Arkansas star and SEC scoring leader Mason Jones.
The Gators' lead was just four with seven minutes to go when the home team put together five straight scoring possessions and five straight empties on the defensive end. Those five scores looked like this: Johnson jumper, two Nembhard driving layups, two free throws from Johnson, then two more that capped a spree of 10 straight points to take the lead out to 14 with 3:38 to go.
That was enough.
"We strung together some stops and got to the rim," UF coach Mike White said.
Johnson, with a gleam in his eye and a conviction to get downhill, was a problem for the Hogs and needs to be problems for the remaining SEC opponents on the Florida schedule. Make that three double-doubles in his last four games and double-figure scoring in eight consecutive games.
"Coach White is always talking now about how my first step is really quick. That's why when they set screens for me I can just get into attack mode," Johnson said. "The other team's '4' man is usually really big, so going against my speed, my first step, that's my advantage on them."
