JD Notae scored 22 points and popped a crucial late 3-pointer as No. 18 Arkansas broke its 14-game losing streak at Florida by toppling the Gators 82-74 Tuesday night in Gainesville, Fla.
The Razorbacks (22-6, 11-4 SEC) rallied from a six-point deficit with 7:25 remaining to beat the Gators (17-11, 7-8) for the first time at Florida since 1995 and claim their third straight SEC win. The surging Razorbacks have won 12 of their last 13 contests.
Notae scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half, and Davonte Davis tallied 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Despite foul trouble in the second half, Jaylin Williams notched 15 points and 10 rebounds. Au’Diese Toney scored 12 points and Stanley Umude added 11.
The Gators got a career-high 29 points from big man Colin Castleton and 19 from Tyree Appleby.
However, after beating then-No. 2 Auburn 63-62 at home Saturday, Florida failed to earn consecutive victories over ranked SEC opponents for the first time since 2010.
Notae made a side-step 3-pointer at 1:06 to put Arkansas up 75-71 and added two free throws with 40 seconds left to push the lead to six.
Davis punctuated the win with a breakaway dunk but received a technical foul for slapping the backboard.
Florida went cold from beyond the arc in the second half, making just one of its nine tries.
In the first half, Appleby — who led Florida’s weekend upset of Auburn — picked up where he left off, draining two corner 3-pointers for a 6-0 lead shortly after the tip-off.
The Gators made their first four 3-pointers to go up 12-4, but Arkansas grabbed its first advantage, 16-14, on Chris Lykes’ 3-ball at 11:15.
The match was contested tightly through the half’s remainder, with Florida cooling off and the Razorbacks slowly building their largest lead, 37-30.
They led 37-34 at the break, shooting 46.7 percent from the field and owning a 14-10 edge in the paint, as Notae notched 10 points.
Florida’s long-range accuracy — 7 for 16 — kept them within striking distance, and Castleton paced the Gators with 11 points.
–Field Level Media
