Gators ride veterans Samuel and Pullin past Missouri for 20th win
GAINESVILLE —With their 20th win in sight, leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. fouled out and another double-digit lead gone by the wayside, the No. 24 Florida Gators turned to their veteran leadership to avoid a stunning home loss.
Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin were ready.
The fifth-year transfers scored 23 of their team’s final 25 points to carry Florida past Missouri 83-74 Wednesday night at the O’Connell Center.
“Two seniors really stepped up tonight and we found a way,” coach Todd Golden said. “They were just awesome. In tight moments, you want your experienced guys to step up and shoulder a little more of the load.”
The surprising Gators (20-8, 10-5 SEC) have leaned heavily on the two transfers.
“It’s huge, the leadership roles they provide,” sophomore big man Micah Handlogten said. “Everyone looks up to them. They’re natural leaders. It’s just really nice to have them.”
Nice and necessary against the struggling Tigers.
UF led Missouri, still winless in SEC play, the entire game — but just barely.
After trailing by as many as 11 points during the second half, Missouri (8-20, 0-15) cut the deficit to 66-65 on an unexpected 3-pointer from 7-foot-5 Connor Vanover with 5:30 remaining.
The 1-2 punch of Samuel and Pullin eventually put the Tigers on their heels.
“We played great down the stretch,” Samuel, who transferred from Seton Hall, said. “We didn’t
panic.”
Florida prevailed for the ninth time in 11 games dating to a Dec. 20 win at Missouri to post 20 wins duringtheregularseasonforthefirst time since going 21-13 in 2017-18.
“I’d say we’re on a pretty good trajectory,” Golden said. “It’s been awhile. Twenty is hard to do.”
The addition of Samuel and Pullin has elevated Golden’s program beyond even the 38-yearold’s expectations.
“We’re a little ahead of where we quote unquote should be in Year 2,” he said. “But what does that matter? What does it mean? We’re going to be judged on how we finish the year anyways and you’ll forget we ever had this conversation.”
March is when title-contending teams find their stride. But the Gators were stumbling along with a 43-40 lead until Pullin’s 3 sparked an 8-0 run featuring a 3 and an assist by Clayton leading to Handlogten’s dunk for a 51-40 advantage with 14:58 remaining.
UF, however, could not hold yet another double-digit lead.
The tide turned when Clayton fouled out with 50 seconds later after officials whistled him for a foul and he drew a technical for arguing the questionable call.
“They said he used bad language towards the bench,” said Golden, who then shook his head. “I’m not going to comment on that.”
For nearly six minutes, the Gators’ offense stalled, with a 3 by Pullin its only field goal as Missouri went on a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 55-54. But Will Richard, 0-for-7 from the arc, finally emerged from his funk at the perfect time, receiving Pullin’s pass in the corner near UF’s bench and burying a 3 with 8:16 to go.
From there, Pullin and Samuel took over to ultimately tame the Tigers.
The 6-foot-10, 239-pound Samuel finished with a careerhigh 28 points to go with 10 rebounds for his team-high 10th double-double.
“His motor was running really high,” Golden said. “When his motor’s running like that, he’s just one of the best frontcourt players in the league.”
Following four seasons at UC-Riverside, Pullin headed cross country to provide the Gators a steadying force. Coming off just 2 points on 1-for-8 shooting against Vanderbilt, the 6-foot4, 206-pound point guard scored 21 points and hit 4 of 5 from 3.
“It was just big taking what they gave us,” Pullin said. “My teammates did a great job finding me in some of those situations [and] it was just having the confidence to keep knocking them down.
“It’s definitely nice to have a game like this. But even better to get the win.”
The victory is the Gators’ seventh in a row at the O’Dome, where they sit 13-1 with one home game remaining — a Tuesday visit from Alabama on Senior Night.
Before the Crimson Tide come to town, UF heads to No. 18 South Carolina (22-4, 10-4) for a meeting of Top 25 teams predicted to finish in the bottom half of the league. SEC media picked the Gators eighth and South Carolina last among 14 teams.
“It’s a big game at this point of the year,” Golden said.