Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center| Gainesville, Fla.
Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2022_2_9_1990252.PDF&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=lEc8N9t_x_OqOS8nZ_LBiw4kGki7IHmc75u8tfIP1gFopUlLDYZiqj9b5e-QEsWl&s=o9UDF4VQCb0h8rHnxDEo9rsT28jCiOotvFIH-IdBnFw&e= > | Season Stats<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2021_11_9_2021-5F22-5FUFStats.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=lEc8N9t_x_OqOS8nZ_LBiw4kGki7IHmc75u8tfIP1gFopUlLDYZiqj9b5e-QEsWl&s=LkoRSGnJEjjeZnNQkfN3EOMV4Nai6Km70Ay3BpUSm40&e= >
Records: Florida 16-8 (6-5 SEC); Georgia 6-18 (1-10 SEC)
Next up for Florida: at #5 Kentucky, Saturday, 4 p.m., ESPN
Notable
* Myreon Jones’ 23 points on a career-high seven 3-pointers (7-for-11) led the Gators to victory against rival Georgia.
* Florida has won four straight and is 7-2 over its last nine games.
* The Gators have won five consecutive meetings with Georgia, matching UF’s third-longest win streak vs. UGA in series history (11, 2004-09; nine, 1964-68; five, 1993-95).
* Jones has shot 14-for-23 from 3-point range (.609) over the last three games. He became the first Gator since 2019 to hit seven 3-pointers in a game, a feat last accomplished by KeVaughn Allen (8-for-10) and Noah Locke (7-for-13), who both did so at Texas A&M on Jan. 22, 2019.
* Jones made his presence felt defensively, as well, recording his first career game with two blocked shots. He also drew his team-high 12th charge of the season.
* Colin Castleton posted 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots in his second game back from a shoulder injury.
* Tyree Appleby scored all 11 of his points in the second half and hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to help seal the win.
* During the Gators’ four-game winning streak, Tyree Appleby is averaging 12.0 points after halftime alone: 13 vs. Oklahoma State (21 total), 17 at Missouri (17 total), seven – all in OT – vs. Ole Miss (10 total), 11 vs. Georgia (11 total).
Head Coach Mike White
On the win and Myreon Jones…
“He’s shooting well, man. If he doesn’t go 7-for-11 from three, I don’t think we win this game. He was terrific. Shot it with confidence. Guys did a good job. I thought Colin set a couple of really good screens for him. I thought we passed it well. But, we are fortunate overall. I thought Georgia played incredibly hard. They beat us to a bunch of loose balls and they were really good on the offensive glass. Their physicality defensively up front was a problem for us. Their attention to detail with the trapping and the bodies around Colin Castleton were really good.”
On Georgia making it close…
“I don’t know if it’s intensity as much as it is. Obviously, there’s an intensity drop. Are we watching the scoreboard? Are you just hoping it ends? Are you mentally fatigued? Are you down about your last missed shot? A mental toughness that we’ve been talking about all year… I thought at times, we played with a lot of edge. I thought we started with a lot of edge with the right mental approach. We’ve got to be better finishing, of course. We’re fortunate, man. Georgia has a lot to do with that though. I just thought defensively, at times, we looked tired, and their initial push, which we are going to see again on Saturday, is elite off makes and misses. We had to get out of press because they were just pushing down our throat and playing in space with confidence and drawing fouls. If we pressed the whole game, we might have fouled them fifty times. They were great downhill. I just thought we looked tired defensively and I thought that had a lot to do with Georgia’s offense.”
#0 Myreon Jones, Senior Guard
On how he felt about his performance…
“It felt great. It felt even better that my teammates were actually just looking for me, telling me, ‘Run here, run there, I’ll look for you.” I think that’s the best feeling as a shooter going in. The team isn’t getting jealous, they’re actually looking for me. I think that was the best part.”
On how big the basket is for him…
“It’s huge, honestly. When I get in that groove, I’m just shooting. I don’t think about anything else, I just shoot. That’s just the results.”
On going into the next game…
“We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do, we know that. But, Georgia is a good team. We actually have to play them again, so it’s not going to be easy. We didn’t really think about Saturday, we were just worried about Georgia. That’s pretty much it.”
#14 Kowacie Reeves, Freshman Guard
On attacking the rim…
“At this point of the season, I just keep tagging along, just keep looking for angles and stuff like that during the game. With the physicality at this level, it’s harder to get the rim. So, I just hit my spots and tried to capitalize on the opportunities I get to the basket.”
On the offensive rebound and his dunk…
“Honestly, I just went to crash the basket because that’s what I’m supposed to do. We’ve got crash guys and floor balance so, I just went to crash, and the ball just so happened to find a way into my hands.”
On keeping the lead throughout the game…
“It was just the urgency. It felt good to keep that same urgency. Even when they were coming back, that feeling of not wanting to lose. We know that these SEC wins are hard to come by. Everyone is good no matter what their record is. So, it felt good.”
