Florida Gators

What Happened

Florida backup guard Riley Kugel went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line over the final 15 seconds and the sixth-seeded Gators, after erasing a seven-point second-half deficit, held off upset-minded and No. 11-seed Georgia for an 85-80 victory Thursday night in second-round play Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 22 points, 15 in the second half, and led five UF players in double-figure scoring, but the Gators allowed the Bulldogs to stick around with sub-standard rebounding effort in the first half and by digging themselves a hole with a horrendous 23-for-41 performance (56.1 percent) at the free-throw line. Kugel, the sophomore reserve, was not part of those latter ugly numbers. He was cool in knocking down two with 15.1 seconds to go, two more with 12.2 remaining and his last two with 5.3 seconds left, with each visit to the stripe coming with Georgia trailing by just three. Grad-transfer forward Tyrese Samuel had his 12th double-double of the season, with 17 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, but Samuel also was the main free-throw culprit in going 9-for-23. Junior wing Will Richard had 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, 3-for-5 from deep, plus seven rebounds. Grad-transfer point guard Zyon Pullin had 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists before fouling out late. Backup freshman forward Alex Condon had 10 points. Georgia led by seven approaching four minutes into the second half when Florida took off on a run of 12-2 to move in front by three, 51-48, with 12:04 to play. Along the way, though, Pullin picked up his fourth foul and the Gators had to navigate the next 10 minutes without their steadying floor general. They managed to do so, but not without a lot of drama and angst at the line. Still, Florida got up by as many as eight, but the margin was just one, 74-73, when Pullin was called for an offensive foul, his fifth, with 2:10 left and went to the bench for good. On Georgia's next possession, with a chance to take the lead, Clayton stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for an old-time 3-point play and four-point advantage with 1:55 left. After that, the Bulldogs three times made it a one-possession game, with Kugel answering each time with his free throws. Florida shot 44 percent for the game and made just eight of 19 attempts from the 3-point line, but dominated the glass 52-36 (including 16-8 on the offensive end), with a 32-13 advantage in the second half. The Bulldogs, who shot 42 percent for the game, had a balanced scoring ledger, led by 14 points each from senior guard Noah Thomasson and freshman guard Silas Demary Jr. The win was UF's 11th straight in the series, with Gators coach Todd Golden improving to 5-0 in his head-to-head matchups against Mike White, his predecessor. 

What it Means

More SEC Tournament for the Gators. Read on. 
 

In the Spotlight

Kugel finished with just eight points, but those were six pressure-packed big ones at the end. 
 

Staggering Statistic

The Gators had to feel pretty fortunate to miss 18 free throws in a five-point game and still come out on top, but that plus-19 second-half advantage on the glass was the difference.
 

Up Next

Florida (22-10) will have another long day Friday, with a late-night date against 19th-ranked and third-seeded Alabama (21-10) in the tournament quarterfinal round. The Gators and Crimson Tide split two games during the regular season, with Bama winning 98-93 in overtime at Tuscaloosa on Feb. 21 and UF returning the favor with a 105-87 blowout victory in the March 5 home finale at Gainesville.