AUBURN, Ala. — Kowacie Reeves wanted no part of any moral victory talk Wednesday night. Not after his Florida Gators went toe-to-toe with the nation's 20th-ranked team on the road, only to let a five-star opportunity in their Southeastern Conference opener against Auburn slip away in the waning seconds. 

"We're not happy about the loss," Reeves, the sophomore wing said after the Tigers surged late and closed out a 61-58 victory for their 25th consecutive home win. "But I'm encouraged for the next one." 

Ultimately, the Tigers (11-2, 1-0) won this defensive slugfest by making the timeliest defensive play of the game. They took a one-point lead with 1:12 remaining on a driving layup from sophomore forward Johni Broome and after a couple empty possessions by both teams converged on UF forward Colin Castleton in the final seconds, forcing a turnover that turned into a run-out layup by point guard Wendell Green Jr. with less than two seconds to go that iced the win amid the bedlam of a 27th straight sell-out home crowd. 

The combination of Broome, the 6-foot-10, 235-pounder from Plant City, Fla., and transfer from Morehead State who Florida pursued aggressively in the transfer portal last spring, and the diminutive but lightning-quick Green led the Tigers with 14 points each. Forward Jaylin Williams had 13. Though Auburn shot only 38.2 percent for the game, it hit 48 percent in the second and dominated the glass throughout, 40-28, including 17-5 on the offensive end. The Gators (7-6, 0-1) got 15 points from sophomore wing Kowacie Reeves and 10 from Myreon Jones, both off the bench, on a night they shot 40.4 percent overall and struggled for the second consecutive game — 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) — from the 3-point line against the nation's No. 12-rated team in defensive efficiency. They stuck around by guarding and going 17-for-19 free the free-throw line (88.9 percent).

All told, plenty of things were stacked against the Gators, including a 7-0 hole to start the game and just six points on 1-for-6 shooting from Castleton, their leading scorer, who faced double teams all night. But they never flinched or backed down and actually were in great shape late before the Tigers made the plays and allowed Auburn coach Bruce Pearl to beat his young protege, UF coach Todd Golden, in their first meeting.  "As we're getting through Year 1 here, for myself and our staff, we're always going to be process-oriented and not results-oriented. I thought for our group — first time playing in an atmosphere like this, on the road, a top-20 team that's obviously had a lot of success in this building — I'm just incredibly proud," Golden said. "If this game was on our schedule a month ago I don't know that we could have stayed in the game the way we did tonight. We made plenty of mistakes that we have to correct, but the overall competitiveness, trust and teamwork of this group has gotten really, really good." 

So has the defense, which has held five of the last six opponents — except No. 2 and unbeaten Connecticut — to below 41-percent shooting. That's something the Gators can hang their hats on, especially given how poorly they were defending the first month of the season. 

And, right now, this team needs to something positive to point to after suffering a sixth Quadrant 1 loss (based on the NCAA Evaluation Tool metrics that will seed the postseason tournament) in as many tries. Florida has played the most Q1 games in the SEC to date, with just one other team (Alabama) with as many as five, two with four (Arkansas and Ole Miss) and the remaining 10 with three or less.

Pearl clearly was moved both during pregame and postgame at seeing Golden, whose first power-conference job was with the Tigers, on the other sidelines. He also knew he was in a highly competitive game. 

"Going up against Todd was emotional for me. I was emotional seeing him before the game. I got emotional on the radio. I love Todd like a son," Pearl said afterward, referencing the relationship he developed with Golden's wife and parents, as well as his own son, Auburn assistant coach Steven Pearl, who remains close friends with Golden today. "There's absolutely no joy in beating him at all. I'd have been upset if we lost because it was a game we had to have. Florida came in here, and I'm sure he went into his locker room and had to praise those guys for coming in here and almost knocking off a nationally ranked team."

Things could not have started much worse for the visitors. Auburn hit a 3 to start the game, a layup off a turnover after UF's second possession, then a second-chance slam to jump in front 7-0 less than three minutes in. Florida, though, calmed itself and held the Tigers to just 16 points the rest of the period and had a nice 10-1 run going — and six-point lead — over the final four minutes before Green bombed in a 3-ball at the buzzer that gave the Tigers some bounce going to the locker down just 26-23.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair with eight ties and nine lead changes. Florida actually led by four, 54-50, after a driving layup by junior guard Trey Bonham, but Auburn scored six straight (with an offensive stick back and transition dunk off a turnover) to take a two-point lead with just over three minutes left. 

Castleton tied the game with a pair of free throws with 2:08 to go, then guard KD Johnson dropped one of two free throws to make it one-point Tigers lead, 57-56, at the 1:57 mark. 

Reeves' driving drop shot, off a great post feed from Castleton (8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks) had UF up 58-57 with 1:33 remaining.  That's when Broom, who also had 11 rebounds, four assists and a block, muscled up a layup down the left side with 1:12 to go for the 59-58 lead. Jones misfired on a 3 at Florida's end, with the ball careening out of bounds, but the Tigers turned the ball over with 25 seconds left, as Golden called a timeout to draw up the go-ahead opportunity. 

"We wanted to get the ball to Colin at the free-throw line, set a cross-screen for him and let him go to work," Reeves said. 

Castleton got the ball in the right spot and spun left to try and drive the right side of the lane. He met resistance in the form of both Broom and forward Chris Moore, losing control of the ball with about five seconds to go. Moore (8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals) picked the ball and forwarded it to the breaking Green, who went in for the layup as the building erupted. 

"Same scenario, same situation tomorrow, we'd run the same thing for Colin," Golden said. "He's our best player. We're down one, we trust him with the ball in his hands."

It just didn't work this time.

After Green's layup, UF guard Kyle Lofton's two-handed heave with just over a second left was well short. The Gators' effort and execution, though, was just barely short.

"I think we're going in the right direction," Reeves said. "That's my biggest takeaway for this game."

Until they actually claim that first win over a bona fide foe, "heading in the right direction" will have to do.