National Basketball Association
Florida 66, Arkansas 50
When: 1:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 14, 2019
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials:
# Rob Rorke, # Steven Anderson, # Todd Austin
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Florida freshman guard Keyontae Johnson posted his second double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and senior guard KeVaughn Allen broke out of a slump with 17 points, lifting the Gators to a 66-50 win over Arkansas on Thursday in the SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn.
The eighth-seeded Gators (18-14) remain on the NCAA Tournament bubble heading into an SEC quarterfinal matchup against No. 1 seed LSU on Friday.
Florida, up 47-44 in the second half, outscored ninth-seeded Arkansas 19-6 in the final 7:57 to snap a three-game losing streak.
Allen, who entered the game having made five of his past 31 shots from the floor, started the run with his third 3-pointer of the game, a shot that hit the backboard and rim before falling through. After two free throws from Arkansas freshman guard Desi Sills cut Florida's lead to 54-48, Allen answered again with a driving layup to give the Gators a 56-48 lead.
Allen, a native of North Little Rock, Ark., improved to 7-1 in his career against his home-state team, going 6 of 14 from the floor and 3 of 7 from 3-point range.
Johnson hit 8 of 14 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 from long distance.
Sophomore center Daniel Gafford led Arkansas (17-15) with 15 points and six rebounds. Freshman guard Isaiah Jones added 12 points for the Razorbacks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Florida outworked Arkansas on the glass, out-rebounding Arkansas 41-26.
Florida trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, but rallied to take a 30-28 halftime lead.
Johnson and Allen each scored 10 first-half points, allowing the Gators to stay in the game.
With Arkansas up 19-12, Allen started UF's comeback with a 3-pointer, cutting the lead to 19-15. Allen's second 3-pointer of the first half cut Arkansas' lead to 25-24. Late in the half, Johnson was able to get an offensive rebound and put-back, putting the Gators up 30-28 at the half.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Arkansas |
|
Florida |
|
Daniel Gafford 15 |
Scoring |
Keyontae Johnson 20 |
|
Jalen Harris 5 |
Assists |
Andrew Nembhard 8 |
|
Daniel Gafford 6 |
Rebounds |
Keyontae Johnson 12 |
|
Isaiah Joe 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Dontay Bassett 4 |
|
Jalen Harris 3 |
Steals |
Noah Locke 3 |
|
Adrio Bailey 1 |
Blocks |
KeVaughn Allen 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Arkansas
|
50 |
37.0 |
4-16 |
12-16 |
11 |
25 |
3 |
9 |
13 |
| Florida
|
66 |
38.2 |
8-22 |
16-22 |
11 |
38 |
2 |
8 |
12 |
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