The Florida Gators mounted a comeback for the ages on Friday night, taking down the Florida State Seminoles by a final score of 76-67 after trailing by nearly 20 at the half.
Although it’s a cliche in sports, this truly was a tale of two halves. The Gators scored twice as many points in the second half of the game and slowed down a red-hot FSU offense until a lead was firmly established. The Seminoles could not stop turning the ball over in the second half, allowing the Gators to go on a 20-3 run through the first 6:15 of the period that erased a 17-point halftime lead.
Florida’s big man [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] contributed 10 of his 25 points during that stretch and completely took over a game he appeared to be struggling in before the half. As the clock whittled down, it became clear that there would be no slowing down the Gators’ offense and the FSU faithful began filing out of the building.
[autotag]Will Richard[/autotag]’s 13 points were good enough for the second-best number on the team, and [autotag]Trey Bonham[/autotag] finally played meaningful minutes off the bench, seemingly in place of true freshman [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] who struggled.
As good as it feels to leave Tallahassee with a win, there’s clearly a lot for Florida to work on if the Gators are going to be successful in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, which begins in just under a week on Thanksgiving Day.
Here are five takeaways from Florida’s first win in Tallahassee since 2012.