Florida Gators winning streak snapped with 67-66 loss at Texas A&M

Trailing by two possessions Wednesday at Rupp Arena, Florida executed the final two minutes flawlessly to force overtime and pull out the win. UF didn’t show the same late-game poise in Saturday’s 67-66 loss at Texas A&M, snapping a four-game streak.

After taking a 66-64 lead on Zyon Pullin’s jumper with 3:04 left, the Gators went scoreless in the last three minutes and committed three of their 14 turnovers, the second most they’ve had in SEC play following 19 against Georgia last week.

An official made a questionable call at the 1:37 mark on Will Richard for stepping out of bounds, which was challenged by Todd Golden but not overturned. That was followed by a UF shot clock violation and then a Riley Kugel turnover with 19 seconds left after Tyrece Radford’s go-ahead basket for the Aggies.

However, SEC Preseason Player of the Year Wade Taylor IV traveled on the ensuing inbounds play to give the Gators another chance at a game-winning shot, but they missed two good looks. Walter Clayton Jr. couldn’t hit a jumper, Kugel grabbed the offensive board and passed it to Pullin, who got A&M’s Jace Carter in the air with a ball fake but was short on his 3-point attempt.

Gators offense stagnant in second half

“We got three stops in a row (late) to allow us to get a lead. We missed two possessions in a row where we could’ve extended it. I thought we got some looks,” Golden said. “Obviously, they’re a tough team. They play a unique style. They’re very physical, and we didn’t do a good enough job attacking their switching man-to-man that they play. I thought we were a little stagnant offensively in the second half.”

Clayton came up big in the Kentucky game with his late 3-pointers but was held scoreless in the second half Saturday. Golden had no regrets about the two shots Florida got on its final possession.

“I’ll take a Walter Clayton pull-up and a ZP 3 and live with the results,” Golden said. “Walt’s a big shot-maker, obviously hit a huge one for us the other night. A little short (this time), thought we did a great fighting on the glass and obviously ZP’s a big-time player, did a great job getting Carter up in the air and got a good look. It’s hard to dictate the exact shot you get in those situations, but I thought our guys made good basketball plays to get the two that we got.”

Radford, who was arrested Friday morning on charges of evading arrest with a vehicle, still played Saturday and led all scorers with 26 points, two shy of his season high. Pullin finished with a team-high 18 points and eight assists but also had his most turnovers (3) since conference play started.

“Playing one of the better teams in the SEC, it’s a game we feel like we should have won,” Pullin said. “They just made more plays than we did. We didn’t come out in the second half and execute well enough on both ends.”

Florida gets outscored in the paint

Kugel and Will Richard each made three 3-pointers and had 12 apiece, but the Gators were outscored 34-18 in the paint as their starting bigs Tyrese Samuel (6/6) and Micah Handlogten (2/3) combined for a season-low 8 points and just nine rebounds, their lowest total in SEC play. Alex Condon did grab 11 boards, his fourth double-digit rebounding game of the season.

Taylor (15 points) and Solomon Washington (10) also scored in double figures for the Aggies (13-8, 4-4 SEC), who shot 41 percent from the floor (24-for-59) and 27 percent from downtown (4-15). UF made more than twice as many 3s — and took twice the attempts (10-for-29) — but shot 55 percent from the line with a season-low six made free throws.

Florida lost its halftime lead after pair of runs by the Aggies, including a 10-2 stretch to pull ahead 59-55 with 7:54 left in regulation. The Gators went back in front with Richard’s third 3-pointer of the second half and a poster dunk by Kugel, but they made just one of final seven field goal attempts.

The Aggies led by seven points in the game’s first five minutes with an 11-0 stretch. The Gators then went on runs of 14-2 and 13-0 to build a double-digit lead, leading by as many as 13 after Pullin hit their seventh 3-pointer before the break.

A&M closed out the half with a 7-0 run, including Radford’s buzzer-beater 3 to make it 40-34. UF pushed its lead back to 12 with two quick 3s from Richard, but the Aggies responded with an 11-2 run and cut the deficit to three points five minutes into the second half.

Florida (15-7, 5-4 SEC) has a week off before returning to action against No. 16 Auburn (17-4, 6-2) for another sellout crowd in the O’Dome. It will be the fifth top-25 matchup of the season for the Gators, who are 1-3 in the previous four games.