SUNRISE, FL – Florida junior guard Will Richard stepped back into his shooting form 24 feet away from the basket and hit a 3-pointer with ease. The Belmont transfer found the ball again from beyond the arc again and drilled another triple.
By the time the Gators ran across the sideline, back on offense, you knew who was going to have the ball.
Richard scored a fastbreak 3-pointer to end a minute-long 9-0 individual run as Richmond struggled to find answers for the season-high night by the junior.
“This young man next to me just separated the game,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said to Richard postgame. “Stepped up in a moment where we needed somebody to kind of take the game back…my man went nuclear over here, hit three, or four, big shots in a row and just gave our confidence back and allowed us to just finish the game.”
The Florida Gators (6-3) defeated the Richmond Spiders (5-5) 87-76 in the Orange Bowl Classic at the Amerant Bank Stadium in Sunrise, Florida, Saturday. Richard scored a season-high 21 points and the Gators shot at a 45% clip for the game.
The action in South Florida started with a 3-pointer by Richmond freshman guard Mikkel Tyne. The Gators didn’t respond on offense and went 0-3 for two minutes sophomore guard Riley Kugel knocked down a fadeaway jumper.
Florida closed the painted area from the Spiders and forced a nearly three-minute scoring drought. Richmond graduate student guard Jordan King broke the spell with a layup.
UF didn’t hesitate back on offense and hit Florida graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel in stride for a transition dunk to regain its lead. The Gators led 6-5 early in the first half.
Samuel showcased himself early offensively. The Seton Hall transfer sank a corner triple and found production in the paint with a putback basket in front of the rim to extend Florida’s lead to 18-10 with less than 13 minutes before the break.
Gators freshman forward Alex Condon made an immediate impact while UF’s defense continued to stifle the Spiders offense. The Australian swatted away a driving layup attempt by Richmond senior guard Dji Bailey to hold the Spiders to a two-and-a-half scoring drought.
Condon compiled two blocks on Bailey throughout the game.
Spider junior guard Jason Roche followed Bailey’s blocked layup with a second-chance 3-pointer and hit another shot from beyond the arc the next possession to close the Gators’ lead to 18-17 with 10 minutes in the half.
Florida freshman forward Thomas Haugh collected his team's composure with a 3-pointer after Roche’s run. The half tightened, with both teams relying heavily on their man defense to halt any small runs down the stretch.
The Gators managed to break away gradually with shots from deep range by sophomore center Micah Handlogten and graduate student guard Zyon Pullin, who finished with 12 on the night.
The 6-foot-4-inch veteran found the opportunity through ball movement from on top of the perimeter and put UF up 31-22 with five-and-a-half before halftime.
The Spiders almost rallied from behind with the aid of Florida miscues and contested shot attempts. Richmond graduate student guard Jordan King drilled a jumper to bring the Spiders within two possessions, 36-30, with three minutes before the break.
UF adjusted on defense and held the Spiders to a three-minute scoring drought for the remainder of the half. Two second-chance baskets inside by Kugel and Samuel kept the Gators cushion at double digits into the break. UF led 40-30 at halftime.
Second half play opened with a spinning post move by Richmond senior center Neal Quinn — who finished the game with 17 points and six assists. The points were the first of six unanswered from the Spiders.
Florida finally answered back with a three-point play from Richard. Quin automatically worked in the post again and banked in a layup to close the Gators lead to 43-38 with less than 18 minutes remaining.
Richard became the vital source of offense for UF in the first five minutes of the half. Five of the guard’s 21 points came within this time span.
The Gators opened up their playbook and found success passing into the post for Samuel and Condon to take advantage with their aggressive play on the lower block. A two-handed yam by Condon, both feet in the air, put Florida ahead 49-40 with 15-and-a-half minutes left.
Richard took over within a minute-and-a-half span midway through the half. The sharpshooting junior splashed three 3-pointers and gave Florida its biggest lead at the time, 62-46, with 11 minutes left.
A media timeout saved the Spiders’ break from Richard’s scoring outbreak. After the break in the action, Richmond went on a 7-0 run.
Golden called timeout in an attempt to recollect his team.
Florida came out of the timeout with drive and banged in five of its next seven shots from the floor. Richard was fouled on a layup and converted another and-one attempt to bring the Gators back ahead by more than 10 points.
Three points by Jordan and a triple by Richmond freshman guard Mikkel Tyne added on to a minute 6-0 Spiders run. Florida led 70-63 with seven minutes left.
Tyne was a problem for UF from the perimeter The 5-foot-10-inch guard scored __ points down the stretch of the second half alone. Kugel and Pullin took upon the challenge on both ends of the court.
After a Tyne 3-pointer, Pullin scored one of his one on the following possession. Kugel then immediately went ahead and locked in a low defensive stance to force a missed Tyne shot attempt from beyond the arc with nearly five minutes left.
Richmond went scoreless for almost three-and-a-half minutes from the floor after Tyne’s 3-pointer. UF invested more into its man defense and held its lead to win 87-76.
Florida will prepare to face East Carolina in the Florida Tip-off at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland Dec. 14. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Contact Brandon Hernandez at bhernandez@alligator.org. Follow him on X @BranH2001.
Brandon Hernandez is currently the enterprise sports writer and sports podcast host for The Independent Alligator. He likes long walks on the sidewalk and watching basketball tape in his off time. You can find most of his work @BranH2001 on X and on The Courtside Podcast on Spotify.
