BATON ROUGE, La. — The situation wasn't exactly a new one. The Florida Gators went to the locker room at intermission Tuesday night after a difficult first half shooting the basketball — yes, again — yet were very much in their road game against the LSU Tigers. The deficit was just three points, despite making 29 percent from the floor and dropping just three of 17 from the 3-point line.
"At halftime we talked about not taking the first shot and moving the ball better," point guard Kyle Lofton said. "Once we started moving it and throwing it into the post we got some split actions, we got some layups, we got some more open shots and that's why we shot what we did in the second half."
The number after the break was 55 percent from the floor, but also 82 percent on 22 trips to the free-throw line, as the Gators overcame an early five-point deficit and leaned heavily on their veterans for a 67-56 victory at Maravich Assembly Center that gave the Gators (9-7, 2-2) their first two-game win streak in six weeks and Coach Todd Golden his first Southeastern Conference road triumph.
Forward Colin Castleton only made three field goals, but he absolutely set the tone for his team in the half court. The 6-foot-11 Castleton scored 18 points, including 12 from the free-throw line, where he sank 12 of 15 (9-for-10 in the second half)after drawing a season-high 10 fouls. He also had seven rebounds, two assists and five blocked shots. The Tigers (12-4, 1-3) took the rare tact of single-teaming Castleton and, in turn, struggled to keep himout of the post and getting the ball in man coverage on the block. Meanwhile, the Gators, with Lofton and backup Myreon Jones running offense and each tallying eight points, carved up the LSU defense to the tune of 11-for-20 from the floor in the second half while committing just one turnover between them over the final 20 minutes.
The common denominator between Castleton, Lofton and Jones? All fifth-year seniors and all on the same page with what their coaches ordered up during intermission.
"I talked to our guys about this. This win was because of them," Golden said. "As coaches we try to put them in position to be successful, but for two games in a row they've gone out and executed and done it and finished the job. I expect us to continue to gain confidence."
If they walked into MAC with confidence it was tested early, as LSU scored the game's first seven points and was pitching a shutout when the two teams went to the bench for the under-16 media timeout. UF returned to the floor and scored the next eight points to take a brief 8-7 lead, but stuck around — tying the game four times — though never taking the lead and trailed 28-25 at halftime after going 8-for-28 from the floor.
"We felt good at halftime," Golden said. "We didn't make a shot and only we're down three points."
The message to the team was to continue defending, which is becoming the foundation for which this 2023-23 team is being forged. After limiting the Tigers to just 35.7 percent through the first 20 minutes, the Gators lowered that number to 29 in the second — including 0-for-11 from the 3-point line — on the way to holding a sixth straight opponent (including all four SEC foes) to less than 40 percent, while forcing 15 turnovers that led to 23 points.
LSU forward KJ Williams, the No. 2 scorer in the SEC, finished with a game-high 23 and seven rebounds, but the Gators did a good job of keeping him on the perimeter, where the 6-10, 250-pounder missed eight of nine from distance. No other Tiger hit double figures.
"It was definitely our defense," said Jones, who knocked down a pair of 3s, pitched three assists, had two steals and no turnovers over 30 minutes (19 in the second half). "We always talk about not letting our offense affect our defense. When we do that we stay in games. Eventually, we're going to make some shots."
UF fell back by five to start the second half and twice tied the game, only to see the Tigers jump back in front both times.
But not the third.
"They really put their head down and drove us," LSU coach Matt McMahon said. "Our ability to protect the paint was not effective, and I think that shows in the free-throw line."
LSU led 36-34 on a slam dunk from Kendall Coleman on a baseline-out-of-bounds play at the 15:14 mark. Two possessions later, Florida tied the game by forcing a turnover with backup guard Riley Kugel (7 points, career-best 6 rebounds in 17 minutes) missing a run-out opportunity, but gathering his rebound and putting the ball back in the basket with 14:27 left. Two Castleton free throws finally pushed the Gators in front at the 14:03 mark and 30 seconds later Jones hit an open-floor transition 3 on a nice pitch-ahead from Kugel that pushed UF ahead by five.
The margin bounced from three to five over the next nearly four minutes, with two Lofton free throws moving the Gators ahead 45-40. But after a stop, Jones drove baseline from the right side, drew the defense, then fired a skip pass to Kugel in the leftcorner. His 3-pointer, though one of only two the team made after halftime, took the lead to eight with 10 minutes to go.
"In a big like that tonight, where no one is shooting the ball particularly well, those feel like 5-pointers instead of 3-pointers," Golden said. "They ended up being separators."
From there, each time the Tigers got within striking distance — twice within four — Florida fended them off, with an 8-1 mini-run of two free throws each from Castleton and Jones bracketing buckets from sophom*ore forward and LSU transfer Alex Fudge (7 points, 3 rebounds), stretching the lead to 11 with four minutes left and sending the fans for the exits.
The Gators, feeding off their elders, were the more composed team.
"When they go on runs you have to stay with it and not get too ahead ourselves or lose focus in what we're doing," Jones said. "Having us three [fifth-year guys] out there keeps everybody calm and collected throughout the game."
Added Castleton: "Our last game [Saturday's win again Georgia] was one of the most connected games we've had all year. It was a really good building block for us, as far as playing with passion. Every huddle, it's me and Kyle and Myreon talking about things we're seeing."
Now they've seeing what works best. The last couple games, it's been a lot of minutes for the fifth-year trio with a combined 15 years of college experience on their collective resumes.
"Myreon and me, we're not really similar, but we both understand the game and know we have to move the ball to get good possessions," Lofton said. "When the ball is stuck that's bad offense, and I think that's what we were doing in the beginning of the season."
It's not what they're doing now in the mid-season.
And as long as it's working, they might as well continuingdoing it deeper into the season.
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