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Florida hits half-court buzzer-beater to take lead on Michigan

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•12/19/23
Todd-Golden-Florida-Gators-Keyontae-Johnson
Florida coach Todd Golden. (UAA Photo)

Florida and Michigan were locked in a back-and-forth contest in the first half of a meeting in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday night, then a halftime buzzer-beater gave the Gators the lead.

Gators guard Zyon Pullin took an outlet pass after a Wolverines possession just before the half came up empty. With the clock ticking down, he reared up from just inside the halfcourt line and heaved.

It caromed off the backboard and went in, putting Florida ahead 38-37 at the break.

Michigan led for most of the first half after taking an early lead in the game. Guard Dug McDaniel was on fire in the early going, beating everything the Gators threw at him.

McDaniel finished the first half 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range, ending the first half with a game-leading 15 points.

Former Tennessee transfer Olivier Nkamhoua was also having a big half, something he did routinely against Florida while playing in the SEC. Nkamhoua finished the half with 10 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes played.

Florida, on the other hand, leaned on its frontcourt to get the job done early.

The Gators worked the action inside out, which might have been fortuitous with a pair of the team’s more electric guards struggling. Guards Will Richard and Riley Kugel combined to go 1-of-12 from the floor and 0-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half, contributing just two points collectively.

But the big men were there to pick up the slack.

Alex Condon scored a team-high 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Micah Handlogten scored seven points and Tyrese Samuel scored six.

Florida ended the first half with a 23-17 rebounding advantage. Florida also held a 24-16 advantage in points in the paint.

Shooting was the major difference in the half, as Florida finished just 23% from 3-point range, even with the buzzer-beater, while Michigan was at 50%.