Gators eliminated from SEC Tournament in OT loss to Miss State
The Gators twice had a chance to advance in the SEC Tournament on a game-winning 3 from Myreon Jones, but he couldn’t connect on either shot at the end of regulation and overtime. Mississippi State escaped with a 69-68 win Thursday, likely punching its ticket to the Big Dance while ending Florida’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
The Gators (16-16) rallied from a double-digit deficit at halftime to take the lead in the second half and late in overtime. A trey by Jones tied the game at the 6:27 mark, but MSU scored six straight points to pull ahead 57-51 with 1:54 left. Jones then hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds to force overtime.
The Bulldogs (21-11) built a seven-point lead in the extra period, but Florida fought back with five points from Riley Kugel and took the 68-67 lead on a Neils Lane putback with 11 seconds left. MSU’s Tolu Smith scored the go-ahead layup on the ensuing possession, and then Jones was unable to knock down his second game-winning attempt from 3.
With Florida’s Colin Castleton (hand) sidelined, Smith had a career-high 28 points and Shakeel Moore also finished in double figures, although he scored just one of his 13 points after the half. Kugel led the Gators with 13 points, while Jones and Kowacie Reeves both chipped in 11.
After scoring the game’s first basket, the Gators trailed for the rest of the half as MSU amassed a double-digit lead over the final nine minutes and led by as many as 14. But after closing out the period with a 4-0 run, Florida outscored the Bulldogs 12-1 out of the break.
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A 3-pointer from Aleks Szymczyk at the 14:31 mark gave the Gators the first lead since their opening score. From there, the Bulldogs and Gators began trading baskets and neither team led by more than one possession until the final two minutes.
Both teams shot similar percentages in the first half from the floor and beyond the arc (39/25 for MSU, 36/23 for UF), but the Bulldogs outscored Florida 12-0 in second-chance points. They also outrebounded UF 23-14, including 9-2 on the offensive glass.
The Gators shot 44 percent in the second half and improved their rebounding numbers (17) and second-chance points (7), while holding Mississippi State on defense to 29 percent shooting (8-for-27) and 0-for-5 from downtown. However, MSU shot 83 percent (5-for-6) in OT.
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