Missouri extended its defense while trapping the Florida guards in the half-court to try and force a desperate turnover in the winding minutes of play.
Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. kept his dribble and his composure despite being smothered by two Tiger defenders near half court.
He elevated over a double-team and found fellow junior guard Will Richard wide open in the right corner. Richard put up a 3-pointer that went straight through the net and put the game out of reach.
The Florida Gators men’s basketball team (12-6, 2-3 SEC) defeated the Missouri Tigers (8-10, 0-5 SEC) 79-67 at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri, Saturday night.
The Gators arrived in Columbia in frigid temperatures. The team needed to catch fire quickly to escape with its first road victory in conference play.
Florida was still looking for a rhythm in the first minutes of play. UF opened the game shooting 2-7 from the field heading into the first media timeout.
Freshman forward Alex Condon has brought grit and energy coming off of the bench all season long. Saturday was no different as he posted up his defender in the paint and banked in a hook shot to give the Gators a 7-6 edge at the 15:21 mark.
The Gators were loose with the basketball in the early minutes of play, committing three turnovers early in the half.
Missouri guard Tamar Bates capitalized on the mistakes made by Florida early, scoring eight points in the first eight-plus minutes of play to lead the Tigers.
Sophomore guard Riley Kugel put the ball on the deck for a baseline drive to finish at the rim. The layup cut the Tigers’ lead to 12-11 at the 12:27 mark.
Florida kept the score competitive in the early part of the half as neither team saw their lead grow to more than four points.
The Gators went on a 5-0 run to gain a 22-20 advantage following a dunk by sophomore center Micah Handlogten and a 3-pointer from junior Guard Walter Clayton Jr. with 6:51 left in the first half.
While the Gators were finding their groove offensively, Missouri went on a 1-for-7 scoring stretch.
However, Bates answered with a 3-pointer to regain the lead 29-28 with 4:10 to go in the first half. The junior guard put the team on his back in the first half posting 17 points while shooting 6-of-12 from the field.
Florida held the lead for the last 2:30 of the first half. Graduate student guard Zion Pullin knocked down back-to-back free throws, and following an empathic putback dunk by sophomore center Micah Handlogten, the Gators held a 37-34 edge heading into halftime.
Junior guard Will Richard struggled to get involved on the offensive end for UF shooting 0-for-3 from the floor with zero points at the break.
The tightly-contested first half featured eight lead-changes and seven ties.
As the second half of play began, the Gators still had no answer for Bates as he scored the first four points for Missouri.
At the 17:44 mark, the Tigers regained the lead 41-40 after a corner 3 from graduate student guard Nick Honor.
Florida kept its composure and went on a 7-2 run sparked by two 3-pointers by Richard for his first points of the matchup.
The Gators kept their foot on the gas as Clayton Jr. banked in an and-1 layup that gave UF a 49-43 lead with 15:44 on the clock to force a Missouri timeout.
UF clamped down defensively in the early minutes of the second half. Kugel stole a pass and took it coast-to-coast before dishing a pass to Richard in the paint for a transition layup.
Missouri switched to a zone defense to try to slow down Florida’s offensive attack. Though, graduate student guard Zyon Pullin knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Gators a 55-47 advantage with 12:07 left in the game.
Florida was unable to pull away from the Tigers in the second half. However, Kugel dribbled the ball between his legs before stepping back behind the 3-point line to sink a shot in his defender’s face to give the Gators an 11-point lead at the 7:36 mark.
Missouri went on a daunting 3-plus minute scoring drought down the stretch allowing the Gators to maintain the lead.
Bates stepped to the charity stripe for the Tigers to sink two free throws en route to recording a career-high 36 while cutting the UF lead to 10 points with 5:01 left in the game.
The Gators’ frontcourt put their talents on display in dominant fashion Saturday. Graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel made his presence felt with a team-high 17 points while shooting 5-for-9 from the field.
Handlogten recorded the team’s only double-double scoring 10 points and snatching a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Gators were effective from the free-throw line in the closing minutes, as Samuel and Pullin each made back-to-back free throws to give UF a 71-59 lead with 4:25 left in the game.
Richard kept the strong free-throw shooting trend going for the Gators, burying two shots from the line with 14 seconds left before the Gators came out with a 79-67 road victory.
Florida will be back in action Wednesday to take on Mississippi State. Tip-off will be at 8:30 p.m. at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @MaxTuckerUF25.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time. Max will be covering the Gators Golf teams this Fall for The Alligator.
