Gators fade down the stretch vs. Vandy, drop third straight game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators dropped their third game in a row Saturday with an 88-80 loss to Vanderbilt, which snapped a nine-game losing streak in the series. UF was outscored by 30 points from downtown.
It was a back-and-forth contest with nine lead changes in the first five minutes after the break and no team by leading by more than four points for 20 consecutive minutes of action in the first and second half.
But Vandy took a six-point lead with under six minutes left and pulled away down the stretch, led by Liam Robbins with a career-high 32 points. Trey Thomas (16), Ezra Manjon (11) and Jordan Wright (10) also scored in double figures for the Commodores, who shot 52 percent from 3-point range (12-for-23).
The Gators matched their season-low with just two 3-pointers on 20 attempts (10 percent). It was their third time this season with only a pair of treys made in a game (West Virginia, 2-17; Oklahoma, 2-22).
Robbins outdueled Florida star Colin Castleton, who posted his fourth straight 20-point game in SEC play with 25 points and 11 rebounds. That marks his 19th career double-double, sixth of this season, and his sixth career 20/10 double-double (third this year).
Castleton has posted back-to-back 25/10 double-doubles, and no other Gator since the start of the Billy Donovan Era (1996) has had more than one 25/10 game in their career. He also moved into the top three for the most blocks in school history, passing Al Horford with his first of two blocks on the night. He’s now up to 191.
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Riley Kugel scored a career-high 18 points, Kowacie Reeves added 14 points off the bench and Kyle Lofton had 12 points and a team-high six assists. But Myreon Jones was held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 20 against Oklahoma and he, Kugel, Lofton and Will Richard all failed to connect from downtown (0-for-8 combined).
The Commodores (13-12, 6-6 SEC) built an early advantage in the first period, hitting their first six shots and eight of their first nine attempts while the Gators opened the game 0-for-8 from 3-point range.
Florida took the lead with under four minutes before the break on a steal and poster dunk by Reeves over Vanderbilt’s 7-foot Robbins, who made four blocks. UF trailed 42-41 at halftime.
The Gators (13-12, 6-6 SEC) will be back in the O’Dome on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Ole Miss. The Rebels (10-15, 2-10 SEC) suffered a 64-61 loss at home Saturday vs. South Carolina.
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