FINAL: Florida 88, Kennesaw State 78
Friday, November 11, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 88, KENNESAW STATE 78
FLORIDA 88, KENNESAW STATE 78
WHAT HAPPENED: Fifth-year forward Colin Castleton was an absolute force, pouring in a career-high 33 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots, as the Gators held off the pesky Owls to hand Coach Todd Golden his second win Friday night at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Kennesaw State, out of the Atlantic Sun Conference, simply had no answer for the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Castleton, who hit 12 of his 18 field-goal attempts and went 9-for-13 from the free-throw line over 34 minutes. He even led a couple fast breaks that finished with UF baskets. Sophomore guard Will Richard, the transfer from Belmont, added 15 points, sophomore wing Kowacie Reeves tallied eight points and five boards, with forward CJ Felder good for seven points and six rebounds. UF had a 14-point lead in the first half, but KSU cut it to 10 at the break and hung around the rest of the game, drawing inside single-digits a few times. The Gators, though, responded, mostly with plays from Castleton, but also a couple crowd-pleasing shots from Reeves. When it was over, UF shot 54.5 percent from the floor, thanks to 48 points in the paint (mostly from guess-who). The Owls shot 42.9 percent, but 53.1 percent in the second half, led by preseason All-Sun forward Chris Youngblood's 20 points. UF fifth-year point guard Kyle Lofton was disqualified from the game with 12:21 to go in the game after arguing his fourth foul and getting hit with a technical. The Gators turned to fifth-year Myreon Jones (2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, no turnovers) at the point for the rest of the game.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The big guy in the paint wearing the white No. 12 jersey. There's a reason he a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection poised for an even bigger 2022-23 season.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The UF coaching staff will get the team's attention in the film room Saturday when the subject turns to second-half defense. KSU hit 17 of 32 shots after intermission, equaled Florida on the glass (14-all) and scored 42 points in the paint for the game.
UP NEXT: Florida (2-0) is back home Monday night for what figures to be its most difficult date of this young season, with Florida Atlantic coming to town. The Owls (yes, more Owls), who lost 80-67 Friday night at Ole Miss, are coached by Dusty May, who spent three seasons (2015-18) as Mike White's top assistant before bolting for Boca Raton. May, whose son Jack is a UF walk-on, has a solid team, with five returning starters, that figures to be in the hunt for the Conference USA crown.
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