#6 Kentucky 87, Florida 85
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center | Gainesville, Fla.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/1/6/Gamebook.pdf> | Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/11/17/2023-24_UFStats.pdf> | Media Resources<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv6cc1nl98a49pv/AAD_LkZm6hKvVz7FpyboOUR1a?dl=0>
Records: Florida 10-4, 0-1 SEC; Kentucky 11-2, 1-0 SEC
Next up for Florida: at #22 Ole Miss, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Notable
* Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin put up 23 points each for the Gators, Clayton’s fourth 20-point game of the season and Pullin’s second.
* Riley Kugel added 15 points off the bench, shooting 5-for-10 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3-point range.
* Micah Handlogten tallied his third double-figure rebounding game of the season, snagging 12 in 17 minutes of action.
* Freshman Alex Condon added 10 points off the bench, his sixth double-figure scoring game of the season.
* The Gators limited Kentucky, which entered shooting .416 with 10.6 makes per game from beyond the arc to just 5-for-20 shooting from 3-point range.
Head Coach Todd Golden
On feeling like they let one slip away…
“Yeah. I think it was a missed opportunity for sure. I thought we played relatively well. I don’t think we played great, but I thought we played well. Thought we played pretty dang well in the first half, really just executing what we wanted to do, which was get up and down a little bit. We did a great job taking care of the ball. We went into halftime with an eight-point lead and just didn’t come out the right way in the second half, or we didn’t execute well enough and gave them a little confidence. So I think that was really a bit of an inflection point in the game where we have an eight-point lead and come into that media, and I think we were only up three. Against a really good team like this you can’t give them life, you can’t give them hope. We played really well for 20 [minutes], but you’ve got to do it for 40 against these guys…This game came down to a possession here, a possession there. We missed a wide open three late, and [Aaron] Bradshaw hit a big-time shot for them. So, disappointing…We’ve got a tough one on Wednesday, so we can’t sulk or hang our head, for sure.”
On a second-half scoring drought…
“Again, I thought we were getting good shots…I think over the course of the 40 minutes we did a good job getting looks. And again we had some wide open catch and shoot threes that we gotta bang if we want to win a game like this. Maybe tightened up a little bit, but we did a good job of trying to stay aggressive offensively and just didn’t knock them down.”
On areas that execution needs to improve down the stretch…
“We’ve got to do a better job getting stops. They scored a lot in the second half…For me, down the stretch, it’s got to be like the rest of the 40 minutes, in the sense that you’ve got to be able to take care of the ball, got to get shots, got to get on the glass, and your first-shot defense has got to be great. We’ll go back and look at it all and see the different areas that we can improve, for sure.”
On the combination of Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin…
“They’ve been a really good for us all year. As a coach, when you have ball-handlers and play-makers like that, it gives you a lot of confidence. Obviously, ZP started cramping down the stretch but he kept fighting, and Walter is a great competitor. Both of those guys being out there gives you confidence. Again, neither are perfect, there’s definitely areas where they can improve and get better. But when you look at the backcourt, I think our backcourt outplayed their young back court, bottom line. [Antonio] Reeves had a heck of a game. I thought he got us a little bit. But yeah, just again, fell a little short.”
On what he has seen from Riley Kugel from a maturity standpoint…
“Yeah, it’s important to find a way to help your team, and I thought tonight when he got in there he had a great mentality that way. He was really aggressive defensively. I thought he was really active in transition offensively, trying to make really smart plays. And he took the right shots, you know. Took good threes in the first half, banged a couple of them. Just played with a really good mentality. Obviously, some turnovers late that hurt us, but when he plays with that energy and that enthusiasm, especially on the defensive end, I think it opens up everything for him. He gave us a big lift in the first half, for sure.”
Grad G Zyon Pullin
On the strong start and how the game progressed…
“It definitely felt like we [were in control], we felt like we had them on their heels, making plays, but I feel like they just made a few more plays than us at the end of the day. Some correctable stuff, we can correct and be ready for next game.”
On assessing where improvements can be made…
“Definitely both sides, definitely have things to correct, but ultimately, we just can’t give up 87 points. That’s the biggest thing. So, we just have to find ways, watch film, and get better out there.”
Junior G Walter Clayton Jr.
On the loss…
“It’s very tough, obviously. Losing at home, you have to protect your home court. There were some positives, we won the rebound battle, but we gave up 50 points in the second half.”
On what can be improved…
Everybody being on the same page. We had a couple blown coverages, a couple missed rotations, so we just need to get to practice and work on it.”
