Charlotte, North Carolina — It would be impossible to pinpoint the precise moment that Michigan’s minutes started to take a toll, but it’s safe to assume that the famous maize and blue players began to feel a little light in the legs about seven minutes into the second half, with Florida trailing by nine and still trying to mount a defensive stop of the game against the Wolverines’ incredibly efficient offence
UF point guard Zyon Pullin stated, “I think there were moments you could hear them breathing a little harder.”Then came the remainder of the second half and two more overtime periods, during which Pullin and the Gators tied the score, then roared ahead and outlasted the Wolverines to win the second Jumpman Invitational at Spectrum Centre Tuesday night, 106-101 in double overtime.
The Gators (8-3) secured their fourth consecutive victory, demonstrating their resilience on a night where both sides exchanged blows, resulting in 15 ties and 16 lead changes.
“I simply have a lot of pride in this team. After his first non-league victory over a true brand-name opponent (in this case, the Jordan brand), UF coach Todd Golden observed, “They’ve done a really good job of executing what we’re asking them to do.” “Going forward and throughout the season, this should instill a great deal of confidence in us that we can prevail in challenging, fiercely contested matches against elite teams. I’m simply ecstatic and joyful for our group.”
Pullin, the graduate transfer from California-Riverside, scored his most points as a Gator, 22 points off the bench, including a game-winning 3-pointer that forced a second overtime period with nine seconds remaining in the first. He made six of his thirteen shots from the field, sank both of his threes and went eight of ten from the free-throw line. Moving forward The Seton Hall graduate transfer Tyrese Samuel finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year. Junior wing Will Richard added 17 points, the majority of which came after halftime. Alex Condon, a rookie centre in reserve, finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Iona transfer Walter Clayton Jr., a junior guard, finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Even so, none of those stats stood out from the box score as much as those that revealed UF’s bench outscored UM’s 43-3, considering that Michigan’s five starters each played at least 44 minutes out of a possible 50, while no Gator played longer than 39 minutes in the two-hour, 35-minute marathon.
