By Kenneth Cross
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Coach Todd Golden has several Gators on his Florida roster that can step up at any time and lead Florida to a win while playing a complementary role in being a key component to get teammates involved in the flow of a game.
Will Richard played his role well in Florida’s 79-70 win over Mississippi State on Wednesday night. He scored 23 points in leading four Gators in double-figures as Florida defeated Mississippi State, 79-70, and pulled their SEC record to an even .500 at 3-3.
“I think he had his best game as a Gator tonight, for sure,” explained Florida head coach Todd Golden. “23 points, nine rebounds – had four of those on the offensive glass – created some second-chance points early in the game.
Richard hit a pair of threes and scored eight points in a 13-2 Gators run that helped them turn a 15-10 deficit into a 23-17 advantage with 6:26 to play in the first half.
“I just took what the defense gave me,” said Richard. “I don’t think I forced anything. Just trying to find myself in the right spots.”
Golden was pleased with how Richard figured in the stats and contributed on both ends of the floor. Richard went in at halftime with 18 of his 23 points. In the second half, he showed capability in his defensive play as he had two blocked shots and a steal.
“He gave us a really great game tonight and I think he’s getting more comfortable in getting into SEC play, and I think he has been playing pretty well,” Golden said. “I expect him to continue to do that.”
Florida only turned the ball over seven times after totaling just eight in last Saturday’s win over Missouri and this defined the consistency in offensive flow, following Richard’s 23 points. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton, Jr., tallied 15 each, and power forward Tyrese Samuel checked in with 12.
“I thought he did a great job of being aggressive to start the game, and I think when he is going, we’re just a better team,” said Pullin.”
Samuel finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes as his aggression has picked up positively throughout the first half of the season.
“Our offense is going to take care of itself,” said Samuel, who noted that key conversation at halftime was about getting consistency on the defensive end of the floor. “We play really fast and in transition. As long as we get clean rebounds, I think we will be OK.”
Free Throw Frenzy: The Gators made 17-of-20 shots from the line for 85 percent as this was one of the best displays for Florida this season. The Gators are now up to around 68 percent on the season.
“Eight or 10 free throws down the stretch to ice it and it never let them get super, super tight in the final four minutes,” said Golden.
The Gators made 10-of-11 free throws over the last 1:32 as they were just 1-of-10 from the floor over the last 7:22.
On the Defensive End: Guard Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 26 points as he added five three-point field goals in his 32 minutes.
However, the Gators held big man Tolu Smith to only 10 points, eight below his average of 18.3 points per game.
“That’s about as well as anybody has guarded him all year and he got us early a little bit,” commented Golden. “We doubled him and made him see bodies every time he catches. We felt like if we didn’t let him get close to the rim, that it would run them off the line.”
Mississippi State was only 4-of-9 from the free throw line as they had averaged 21 free throw attempts per game.