Todd Golden told Florida to 'stay the course' after giving up lead to Tennessee

Florida engineered a huge upset of No. 2 Tennessee on Wednesday night, perhaps the first major momentum changer when it comes to the team’s NCAA Tournament hopes. But it didn’t come without a period that felt quite shaky for the Gators, requiring them to stay the course.

Coach Todd Golden just kept trying to steady his guys after Tennessee took a six point lead early in the second half.

“Stay the course. Stay the course,” Golden said of the message he relayed to his team. “We had a tough little stretch there, some things didn’t go our way. That was a great moment for us, just because in the past we haven’t been able to finish at a level like that.”

Florida led the game for much of the first half before Tennessee finally began to assert itself early in the second half.

The Volunteers built a six point lead at one point, only to watch the Gators eat into it and then stifle them on the other end of the floor with terrific defense. Both teams were top-10 teams in defensive efficiency, and it showed.

Florida buckles down, takes control

Florida surged ahead following a Tennessee run that was aided by some foul calls, taking control of the game on its home floor and refusing to let go.

That’s something Golden hadn’t seen his team do at various points in other games.

“We did a wonderful job after (Santiago) Vescovi made those three free throws and put them up six of just cutting that lead back, or sorry, getting that lead back and just never relinquishing it. And did a great job finishing it down the stretch.”

Center Colin Castleton led the way for Florida with 20 points and nine rebounds, while guard Kyle Lofton chipped in 14 points.

Florida will return to action on Saturday with a game at Kentucky on Saturday. The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET with a broadcast on ESPN.