Gators prevail against MSU to get their first Quad 1 win

The Gators finally got off to a fast start at Mississippi State but found themselves in another nail-biter Saturday night. However, unlike their previous four one-possession games, all losses, they prevailed in the final seconds to secure their first Quadrant 1 victory of the season.

Florida jumped out to a 16-point lead, 33-17, but MSU rallied and pulled even in the second half. Tied at 45 at the 9-minute mark, the Gators regained control with a 7-0 run and led the rest of the way.

However, the Bulldogs once again closed the gap and had the ball down two on the last possession, but the Florida defense came up with the stop to seal the 61-59 win.

“I knew they were going to try to drive and attack,” UF’s Colin Castleton said of the final play. “I was trying to be a presence at the rim. I think I hit the ball four times, they got the offensive rebound and I just tried to hit it as hard as I could to get it away until the clock hit zero. We were all scrambling, and it was a dogfight. The whole game was.”

Castleton led the team with 13 points and Will Richard also scored in double figures with 12 points, matching his season high with four 3-pointers. Saturday marked Florida’s second road SEC win and 1,500th victory in program history.

The Gators had lost their last four one-possession games against FAU, Auburn and Texas A&M (twice) prior to beating the Bulldogs.

“It ended up being a game that we expected — a blow-for-blow, team that gets the last couple stops is probably going to find a way to win,” UF coach Todd Golden said. “For us to do this on the road, I think speaks volumes to the growth of our guys and the progress we’ve made over the last month because this is a game that would’ve probably been really hard for us to win a month ago.”

The Gators reversed their recent trend of slow starts. After trailing 3-0, Florida reeled off a 11-0 run that included 3-pointers by Castleton, Richard and Alex Fudge, who left the game with a head injury in the first minute of the second half and did not return.

“It’s been no secret; we’ve talked a lot about how we’re going to get off to a better start. Obviously, tonight we did that, and I was really proud of the way we jumped out on them,” Golden said. “We had a 16-point lead at one point in the first half — hard to do. Obviously, it felt like they were going to come back on us a little bit. I didn’t expect to hold the lead like that all game, but just to give ourselves that head start was huge.”

Kowacie Reeves hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers and scored all nine of his points in the second half. Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones combined for 11 assists and no turnovers.

“We were probably a little too tentative in the second half, but a little bit of that is human nature trying to hold onto the lead as opposed to being really aggressive,” Golden said. “I loved Wacie’s three from the corner that could’ve iced it for us with about a minute to go.”

Florida’s 16 assists were its most in SEC play this season. Lofton also grabbed a season-high and team-leading eight rebounds.

UF’s defense has held eight of its last nine opponents to 66 points or fewer and 10 of the last 12 have shot below .400 from the field.

“I think we got some huge stops down the stretch on the last two or three possessions that won us the game,” Golden said.

Golden improved to 4-0 against fellow first-year head coaches in the conference. Of the six SEC teams with first-year head coaches, only Florida currently has a winning record in league play.

After a two-game road trip, the Gators (11-8, 4-3 SEC) return home Wednesday night against South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.