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Gators men’s basketball (7-6, 0-1) came up short on the road against the Auburn Tigers (11-2, 1-0) on Wednesday night, losing 61-58. The Gators start off with a loss to begin conference play. Also, this is the first conference loss for Todd Golden as the Gators head coach.
Final#GoGators | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/XzVRhPPD9p
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 29, 2022
Positive Performances from Duo Off the Bench
Even though the Gators lost in tough fashion against the Tigers, two players gave Florida a big lift off the bench. Both Kowacie Reeves and Myreon Jones had excellent nights as Reeves scored 15 points and four rebounds while Jones finished the night with 10 points, two steals, one assist and one rebound.
Of the 15 points scored by Reeves, this slam grabbed the most attention on the night. Early in the second half, Trey Bonham forced a turnover that led to the acrobatic slam from Reeves.
Defense ➡️ offense @bonham_trey with the steal ➡️ @wacie_wacie with the slam 🔥
📺 https://t.co/MiDvSKOPYM#GoGators pic.twitter.com/otUGXiyUQD— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 29, 2022
Tigers Do Just Enough at the End to Ousts the Gators
Offenses for both teams in the first half would struggle. Florida trailed for almost the entire half. Other than a quick stint with the lead at the 10:26 mark in the first, they would not firmly take the lead until late in the first half. After a small surge from the offense, the Gators would push out to a six-point lead with just under 30 seconds left. Florida held this six-point advantage until a late three from the Tigers right at the end of the half cut it to three. Heading into halftime, Florida led 26-23 over Auburn.
On defense in the first half, Florida forced 12 turnovers and blocked four shots. Auburn shot just 28.6% overall and were 2-for-6 on three-point attempts. And the surprising note heading into halftime for the Gators would be Colin Castleton tallying only two points and the Gators still holding the lead. However, he did fill up the stat sheet in other areas. He blocked three shots, had two steals, two assists and four rebounds.
The second half, much like the first, would be a back-and-forth contest between the two teams. Neither team could pull away from the other. Whenever one made a shot, the other would follow suit. This held true until the very end of the game. The largest lead in the second half was held by Florida, having a four point lead on multiple occasions. However, the Tigers never let it extend beyond this. With hard work and determination, the Tigers clawed their way in front with just over a minute left in the game after Tiger guard K.D. Johnson found big-man Johni Broome for a layup that put them in front 59-58.
Although, Florida did have a chance at the end after a steal from Alex Fudge gave them the ball with 18 seconds left in the game. Unfortunately for the Gators, they would gift the ball right back to the Tigers with seven seconds left and would fall 61-58 with a late layup from Auburn.
The offense for the Gators could have been better as they shot just 40% from the field overall, and only 16% from behind the arc. They did make 17 free throws on 19 attempts, but that was not enough to give them the win.
Next Up on the Schedule
The Gators will head back to Gainesville for a two-game home stand. They will begin on Wednesday where they will host the Texas A&M Aggies at 7 PM. Then on Saturday they will welcome back former head coach Mike White and the Georgia Bulldogs at 1 PM.
