GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With six-plus minutes to go and his team down by nine, Florida coach
Mike White huddled with his players during a timeout and listened to them vow they
were not going to lose Tuesday night's home game to Ole Miss. OK, fine. White asked his worked-up bunch what defense they wanted to play to get back in the game.
"Man," forward
Colin Castleton shot back. "Straight up, one-on-one man."
So, man it was.
And man up, the Gators did.
Castleton, the 6-foot-11 transfer from Michigan, was spectacular all night, but especially in those final minutes in helping key a ferocious UF run that included the final 14 points of the game, as the Gators smothered the Rebels when it mattered most and left Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center with a much-needed 72-63 victory that snapped a two-game losing streak.
It was an across-the-board, career performance by Castleton, who scored 21 points, tallied career highs of 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots to go with three assists. He also had a big hand (a swinging one) in the play of the game, when — with UF down by two points — he swatted away a driving attempt by guard Devontae Shuler, the ball caroming off the backboard. Guard
Tyree Appleby grabbed the rebound, took off on a break, and shoveled a pass back to shooting guard
Noah Locke, who stepped into a rhythm transition 3 that banged home and gave the Gators (6-3, 3-2) the lead with 2:34 to play.
For good, as it turned out.
Castleton made six of his 12 shots from the floor and went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line. Sophomore point guard
Tre Mann added 17 points, seven rebounds and hit all eight of his free throws. Locke, back in the starting lineup after sophomore guard and defensive standout
Scottie Lewis was ruled out due to health and safety protocols, poured in 15 points, with a trio of 3-balls over his 38 minutes.
"We needed this one very bad," Mann said of a game the Gators led by 11 in the first half, only to allow the Rebels (6-4, 1-3) to begin clawing their way back (and eventually way ahead). "This was a desperation win. I think that's why we played as hard as did down the stretch."
Colin Castleton (12), who went 6-for-12 from the floor and 9-for-12 from the free-throw line, goes to work against Mississippi's Romello White (0). (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
UF trailed 61-52 after Shuler (team-high 19 points) drove for a layup with 6:28 to go. That's when White, who earlier in the game was hit with a technical when he reacted to a no-call with some words and a toss of the COVID mask covering his face, called his timeout.
From there, and playing man the rest of the way, the Gators outscored the Rebels 20-2 over the final 6:15, including those last 14 points. The lone Ole Miss points were two free throws by forward Romello White (10 points) with 4:33 remaining to give his team a 63-58 edge.
After that, Castleton converted an old-fashion three-point play — after two UF offensive rebounds — to draw his team within two points. The next series down, Castleton ate up Shuler's driving layup attempt that led to Locke's 3-ball and the Gators' first lead since early in the second half.
Ole Miss could have retaken the lead, but forward KJ Buffen (8 points, 5 rebounds) bounced two free throws and then Mann scored six straight points, including four free throws, two of which came after Rebels coach Kermit Davis was hit with a technical foul with 49.9 seconds to go. Mann's four straight freebies pushed UF in front by seven.
Sophomore point guard Tre Mann (1) drives and finishes for a big late layup in traffic. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Resilient. That's how White described his team.
"A lot of physical and mental toughness, which is something we talk about as much as anything," said White, whose squad shot just 43 percent, but held Mississippi to 39 percent while going 22-for-26 from the free-throw line (84.6 percent), including 16 of 18 in the second half. "This team has got to develop in those toughness categories, but we took steps tonight. We were in a stance [on defense], we were flying around, and I thought Colin did a good job altering some shots."
He connected on a bunch of them, too. The eight blocks were the second-most in program history (Dwayne Davis had nine in 1989 against New Orleans), but an O'Dome record and also the most by a Gator ever in SEC play. Not bad.
"Really motivated," Castleton said of his team, which was coming off losses to Alabama and Kentucky by a combined 33 points, including an eyesore of a 74-56 defeat at home three days earlier against the Wildcats. "We had a disturbing performance against Kentucky. We got back to work the next day and had some things to fix. We played hard, played unselfish and bounced back really well."
To a man.
