Gators Produce Hard-Fought Road Victory Over LSU, 67-56

Two straight victories.

The Florida Gators performed to their defensive id on the highway in Baton Rouge to steal a worthwhile victory over the LSU Tigers on Tuesday night time, 67-56. The competition marks Todd Golden’s first highway SEC win.

Colin Castleton and Kowacie Reeves Jr. led Gators scorers with 18 and 11 factors, respectively. Nevertheless, Florida’s eight blocks, 10 steals, 15 compelled turnovers and 23 factors off turnovers proved to be the distinction within the contest.

The tide turned within the Gators’ favor practically halfway via the second half as Florida started to seek out its groove on the offensive finish by turning defensive excellence in open seems.

The surge started with a four-point swing the place LSU ahead Derek Fountain took the ball from Castleton’s grasp on the high of the important thing. Trying to have a simple transition bucket to increase the Tigers’ lead, Fountain began to get out in transition behind the Gators’ protection earlier than Myreon Jones pickpocketed the LSU huge man to regain management of possession.

Florida used that steal to show a would-be Tigers basket into two factors within the different course to tie the competition.

A number of possessions later, Jones added to the flurry of Florida’s run as he discovered himself on the receiving finish of a transition sequence. Riley Kugel pushed the rock into the center of the Tigers’ protection and kicked it to the nook the place Jones stood. He knocked down his second triple of the sport — a promising emergence for the Gators this season after struggling as a shooter for the whole thing of his UF profession.

That gave Florida a 41-36 lead, its largest margin of the sport to that time.

The Gators pushed their lead as much as eight with 10:20 remaining (48-40) and 11 with just below three minutes left (60-49). Whereas the Tigers tried to claw again, Florida continued defensive strain made it an arduous process for LSU to earn the powerful buckets it wanted to execute the late comeback.

UF stored McMahon’s squad at arm’s size all through the rest of the competition to carry onto that 11-point margin of victory.

LSU ahead KJ Williams did his half to maintain the Tigers inside putting distance, posting a game-high 23 factors, however it finally did not matter as they went 32.3% from the sector as a unit. As well as, the Tigers’ reliance on photographs from the perimeter and lack of presence within the paint plagued LSU from taking management of the sport as Florida struggled to put up factors within the first half. 

That truth additionally appeared within the type of free throw makes an attempt, with Florida dominating the competition from the charity stripe, pulling down 24 of its 32 makes an attempt on the night time in comparison with 13-for-16 from LSU.

Gators guard Kyle Lofton continued to shine as he is proven important development of late, producing eight factors on 75% from the sector and two rebounds with big-time contributions at essential moments within the contest.

The Gators will return house on Saturday to tackle the No. 20 Missouri Tigers with a chance to go above .500 in SEC play for the primary time this season and stretch their win streak to 3.

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