The Florida Gators men’s basketball team entered Saturday’s matchup in desperate need of both their first Southeastern Conference and Quad I victories of the season.
As the shot clock winded down with five minutes left in the game, sophomore guard Riley Kugel was in desperate need of getting a shot off.
He squared himself to the basket behind the 3-point line, faded away and banked in a dagger from deep as the Gators cruised to a 22-point lead in the game’s final minutes.
The Gators (11-5, 1-2 SEC) defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks (9-6, 0-3 SEC) 90-68 in their first SEC victory of the season.
“It was an incredible environment,” head coach Todd Golden said. “Obviously after a tough start in league, things can become fickle but our fans were not that.”
Junior guard Will Richard opened the Gators’ offensive attack after getting fouled on a reverse layup attempt underneath the hoop.
Neither team was able to get into much of a rhythm in the first two minutes of play as the teams traded fouls.
Graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel turned the ball over after a defensive rhythm but made up for it when he swatted away a Trevon Brazile shot attempt.
A transition 3-pointer by junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. sent the crowd into its first frenzy of the game as Florida settled into an early 5-4 lead at the 17:31 mark of the first half. Clayton Jr. had been carrying the Florida offense as of late, scoring a team-high 23 points in the team’s last two affairs.
He once again kickstarted the Gators offense early on the offensive end with a scoop layup that banked in for his fifth point in the first three-plus minutes of play.
Florida's backcourt continued to display their talents as back-to-back buckets by graduate student Zyon Pullin gave the Gators a 13-7 edge with 15:05 left to play.
Samuel entered Saturday’s matchup shooting 3-12 from the 3-point line on the season but banged one home from the top of the key.
Florida was sound defensively after giving up a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes of play. After falling behind 7-5, UF responded with a 15-2 run while playing suffocating defense in front of the sold out crowd at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators held the Razorbacks to 3-11 from the field while outrebounding Arkansas 13-5 as Florida took a 23-9 lead into a media timeout after a layup by sophomore center Micah Handlogten.
Sophomore guard Riley Kugel played just four minutes in Wednesday’s game against Ole Miss. However, he wasted no time making a statement, coming off of the bench for head coach Todd Golden and throwing down an aggressive dunk.
“The way he responded was the best he has done in his entire career after a tough moment,” Golden said. “I want him to be super super successful.”
Kugel stayed aggressive with the ball in his hands on the very next possession as he drove to the basket with a strong take and spun off of his defender to finish in the paint.
The Razorbacks went on a 1-for-7 stretch from the field as they watched their deficit grow to 29-13 with 9:01 left in the half. However, freshman guard Layden Blocker slashed through the lane and scored a much-needed basket for Arkansas to slow down the Gators.
AU gained momentum following Blocker’s bucket, going on a 9-3 run to cut the Florida lead to 32-22 at the 6:47 mark.
The Gators responded well to Arkansas' run as Pullin slashed down the lane and dished a pass to Richard for a corner 3.
Florida was effective from the charity stripe in the first half, shooting 80% as a team.
On the Gators’ following defensive possession, Condon made his presence felt at the rim as he swatted away a dunk attempt.
Kugel continued to stay aggressive with the ball in his hands scoring back-to-back baskets as the first half came to a close. The sophomore guard put the ball on the deck for a strong baseline drive and took flight to throw down a dunk to give the Gators a 46-31 advantage with 55 seconds left.
The Gators took a 13-point lead into the break and were led by Pullin and Clayton Jr. with 11 points and nine points, respectively.
Florida was effective at getting the ball in the heart of the Razorbacks’ defense, totaling 22 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes of play.
UF came out firing in the second half with Richard opening the scoring with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
Samuel showed off his mid-range ability with a pair of pull-up jumpers in the opening 2:07 of play. The forward continued to put his athleticism on display as he snatched an alley-oop pass out of the air with one hand and threw it down over his defender's head.
Golden was pleased with his team’s second half defense after it struggled in their road loss at Ole Miss on Wednesday.
“In practice, coach kept on saying we gave up 50 points in the second half,” Samuel said. “Our goal was to go out there and make sure that didn’t happen again.”
Florida was in control of a 57-39 lead following a 12-6 run in the first four-plus minutes of the second half.
Arkansas guard Joseph Pinion looked to put the team on his back, knocking down a 3-pointer while shooting 4-4 from the free throw line all in less than two minutes of play to cut the Gators’ lead to 58-44 with 14:33 left in the game.
But just as the Razorbacks saw a glimmer of hope in getting back into the game, the Florida backcourt had other ideas.
Two 3-pointers from Kugel and Richard ignited the O’Dome as Florida fans watched the lead grow back to 20 at the 13:16 mark.
A 6-2 Florida run capped off by a Pullin 3-pointer at the 7:40 mark gave the Gators a 23-point lead and put the game out of reach.
Florida held the lead for a total of 37 minutes in the matchup, allowing Golden to clear his bench for walk-ons to enter the game and dribble out the remaining seconds of the contest.
Kugel finished with a team-high 20 points in Saturday's matchup. Samuel finished with a double-double recording 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Pullin and Richard had strong performances as well, finishing with 15 points and 13 points.
Condon came off the bench and provided valuable minutes for the Gators posting seven points and nine rebounds in just over 22 minutes of play.
Next, the Gators travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a matchup with the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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.
