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On Wednesday, the Florida men’s basketball team (12-8, 5-3) breezed past the South Carolina Gamecocks (8-12, 1-6), winning 81-60 at home.
HOME DUB!#GoGators | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/tADvTGiJMN
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 26, 2023
Myreon Jones shows his all-around abilities for the Gators
Myreon Jones put on one of the best performances of his career in a Gator uniform. He finished the game with only nine points, but he added 10 rebounds, eight assists and one steal. Additionally, his eight assists were a career high for him. And of the eight, the most exciting one might have been when he found Riley Kugel on a back door cut for an alley-oop slam.
https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1618417432057495552
After the game, Florida head coach Todd Golden praised Jones on his recent performances.
40-minute dominance from the Gators
The Gators held all the cards in the first half. They never trailed during the first 20 minutes of the game against the Gamecocks.
They were efficient on offense and stingy on defense. In the first half, they held their opponents to just 34.5% from the field while also forcing nine turnovers. On the other side of the court, they shot 45.2% from the field. Moreover, they only had three turnovers in the half. However, they did not shoot well from behind the arc, making only three 3-pointers in 13 attempts.
Florida was led by Kowacie Reeves and Colin Castleton in the first half. Reeves scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds. Castleton had nine points and two blocks in the first half. And at the end of the first, Florida led 34-26 over South Carolina.
The second half would be no different from the first. In fact, it might have been better. The offense came out firing on all cylinders to begin the half. And just like the first, they never trailed the Gamecocks. Both sides of the court seemed to be controlled by the Gators no matter which players were playing. And as time went on, the Gators lead only grew bigger.
The team started to play with what looked like more freedom and fun for most of the half. For example, after forcing a turnover on one end, Riley Kugel came back down the other way and slammed it home to get the crowd going crazy.
https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1618427979708727296
When the whistles blew, the Gators had won 81-60 over the Gamecocks. For the Gators, they had a plethora of scorers on the night. Kowacie Reeves finished with 15 points, Colin Castleton had 18, Riley Kugel chipped in with 14 and Will Richard and Kyle Lofton both finished with 10 each.
Furthermore, the Gators offense finished with 21 assists. That is something Golden said he enjoyed while watching his team play.
Onto the next game
Florida will travel to Kansas State on Saturday and share the court with former Florida Gator Keyontae Johnson. After that, they come back home and host the Tennessee Volunteers next Wednesday.
