Tyree Appleby scored 21 points and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. added 14 as Florida overcame a 13-point second-half deficit for a 81-72 victory over visiting Oklahoma State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.
Kowacie Reeves had 11 points and Anthony Duruji chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for the Gators (13-8), who ended a two-game slide by outscoring the Cowboys 49-27 in the second half.
Isaac Likekele scored a team-high 14 points and Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (10-10), who lost their third straight game. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe added nine points and seven rebounds.
Trailing 51-38 with 17:05 remaining, the Gators rallied to take a 58-56 lead they wouldn’t relinquish on Myreon Jones’ 3-pointer from the left corner with 8:37 remaining.
The Gators mounted their comeback by exploiting the Cowboys’ poor interior defense. The Gators went 11-for-14 from the free-throw line during their run and finished the game 33-for-41.
Conversely, Oklahoma State, which didn’t take its eighth free-throw attempt until there was 6:25 left in the game, shot 12-for-19 from the line for the game.
Fleming’s 3-pointer gave Florida a 68-61 lead with 4:00 remaining.
The Gators shot 40.4 percent (19 of 47) from the field, including 32.3 percent (10 of 31) from beyond the arc. Florida also forced 16 turnovers, including 12 in the second half, which it converted into 23 points for the game.
Oklahoma State shot 48.1 percent (26 of 54) from the field, including 44.4 percent (8 of 18) from beyond the arc, in addition to outrebounding the Gators 34-28.
Oklahoma State broke open a 9-9 tie by going on a 23-7 run to take a 32-16 lead on Likekele’s layup with 6:28 remaining in the first half.
Behind Keylan Boone and Thompson, who each scored nine first-half points by going 3 of 4 from 3-point range, the Cowboys led 45-32 at halftime.
Oklahoma State shot 63.3 percent (19 of 30) from the field, including 70 percent (7 of 10) from beyond the arc, in the first half.
Florida, which was led by Appleby’s eight first-half points, struggled for much of the opening 20 minutes. The Gators shot 34.5 percent (10 of 29), including 25 percent (5 of 20) from 3-point range.
The Gators were without 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton — the team’s leading scorer (15.1 points per game), rebounder (9.1) and shot blocker (2.8) — who was out with an injured shoulder for the fifth straight game.
–Field Level Media
