UF forward Colin Castleton is examined on the bench by Gators trainer Dave Werner after suffering a broken hand in the second half of Wednesday night's defeat of Ole Miss.
Gators Lose Castleton in Win over Ole Miss
Wednesday, February 15, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida statistical sheet showed a definitive team effort from the Gators in their 79-64 home victory Wednesday over Ole Miss.
They needed it, too, after losing the definitive heart of their team for what could very well be the balance of the season.
Fifth-year forward Colin Castleton suffered a broken right hand five minutes into the second half, went to the bench in obvious pain, then left Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center accompanied by medical personnel. Without their 6-foot-11 leading scorer, top rebounder and elite rim protector, UF banded together to get double-figure scoring from five different players, led by 15 points from fifth-year guard Myreon Jones, to snap a three-game losing streak behind the best and most balance all-around offensive performance of the season.
"Obviously, it didn't look great," Golden said of his star player's gut-punching exit. "But we have a game on Saturday no matter what, so if he's going to be out for an extended period of time it's next man up."
They got started right away. While Castleton was getting X-rays (and his eventual bad news), Jones was dropping five 3-pointers, with sophomore wings Will Richard and Kowacie Reeves scoring 13 points a piece. Freshman guard Riley Kugel had his third straight game of double-digit scoring with 12 points, while fifth-year point guard Kyle Lofton played an exceptional floor game on his way to 10 points, four rebounds, seven assists and just two turnovers.
When it was over, the Gators (14-12, 7-6) had shot a season-high 59.2 percent overall and nailed 10 of 17 from the 3-point line four days after going a miserable 2-for-20 in a crushing home loss to Vanderbilt. Defensively, UF got back to resembling the unit that held 11 of 12 opponents to sub-40 percent before taking three giant steps backward in consecutive losses at Kentucky, third-ranked Alabama and then against Vandy, who collectively rocked the Gators for 48-percent shooting overall and 47 from the 3-point line in that losing skid.
Ole Miss (10-16, 2-11), albeit not in the same class with the previous three teams, hit just 39.7 percent for the game and three of 12 from distance (25 percent).
The Gators got 26 points off their bench, including a second straight double-figure output from Kowacie Reeves(center), who scored 13 points.
"Pretty tough, man," Reeves said of his fallen teammate after going five for nine from the floor, hitting two of his four 3s and posting double figures for a second straight for just the second time in SEC play this season. "We don't know any specifics right now. If [Colin] can't go I know we have guys who are prepared to."
First up was 6-11, 300-pound center Jason Jitoboh, who equaled his season-high of 17 minutes — who played all but the final 44 seconds after Castleton (3 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks over 22 minutes) left with 15:05 to play — and finished with four points, two rebounds, two assists and (this was big) just two fouls. Forward Alex Fudge, the 6-9 sophomore, had seven points and five rebounds in 17 reserve minutes.
With Castleton down those are the candidates to replace his minutes in the post, but ultimately it will have to be a collective deal for a team that already was playing undersized and has struggled all season against good rebounding opponents. The Rebels beat the Gators on the glass 38-30, including a dominant 16-4 on the offensive end.
"We're definitely going to have to go to smaller lineups more often and just fight knowing we're going to be oversized most of the time," said Richard, who has been playing an undersized "4" spot for most of the previous eight games. "Just have to fight, rebound and play hard, knowing it's something that has to be done."
UF shot nearly 67 percent in the first half and dropped five of eight 3s — and limited the Rebels to just 32 percent — but only led 39-29 at halftime. That's because they were getting bludgeoned on the glass (11-1 on the offensive end) and turning the ball over nine times.
"We were up 10 at halftime, but the fundamentals of our game were not good," Golden said. "We were getting crushed on the boards and throwing the ball all over the gym. The fact we were up 10 was because we were making every shot."
Freshman guardRiley Kugelflushes two of his 12 points.
The shooting trend continued in the second half, but the Gators were much better with ball security (3 turnovers) and boxing out on the defensive glass (Rebels grabbed just five offensive rebounds). Those things combined with nearly 54-percent shooting in the second half (5-for-9 from deep) and allowed UF to build its lead to as large as 18 with just over seven minutes to go and close out the win.
At a cost, of course.
"If you had asked me, 'How do you like your chances with Castleton scoring three and only playing 20 minutes,' I would have said, 'Man, we're in for a tough one,' all right?" Golden said. "We won by 15. That speaks to the depth and performance of the other guys on the roster."
With a road trip to Arkansas, followed by a home date against Oscar Tshiebwe and Kentucky, plus three more games to round out the SEC season (and then the conference tournament), they'll need to keep speaking on Castleton's behalf. Every one of them.
Florida Men's Basketball | Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon Post Double-DoublesFlorida Men's Basketball | Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon Post Double-Doubles
