UF beats Richmond in Orange Bowl Basketball Classic behind Will Richard’s big game
Will Richard’s first half offensively was one to forget on Saturday. The Florida Gators’ junior guard made just one of his four shots — missing all three from three-point range — and had just 2 points. As he has done so many times this season, though, Richard found a way to contribute in other ways until he heated up and shots made their way into the basket.
And Richard made his share of key shots in the second half.
Richard scored 19 points in the second half to finish with a season-high 21 as the Gators beat the Richmond Spiders 87-76 in the second game of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena.
UF improves to 6-4 on the season and 19-4 all-time in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Richmond falls to 5-5 on the season.
Of Richard’s 19 second-half points, arguably his most important sequence came over a 90-second stretch when he hit three consecutive three-pointers to push UF’s lead to 62-46 with 11:47 left to play after Richmond had mounted a mini rally after halftime.
“My man went nuclear over here,” second-year UF coach Todd Golden said. “It just gave us our confidence back and allowed us to finish the game.”
Added Richard: “It was just staying aggressive within our offense. I wasn’t trying to force anything, but once I saw the first one go in, I felt a little confidence.”
The cushion in the moment was needed, as Richmond responded with a 7-0 run to cut Florida’s lead back down to nine points before the Gators pushed their lead back up to as high as 16 points.
Prior to Saturday, Richard’s season-high was 20 points set on Nov. 14 against Florida A&M. His career high is 24 points, set on Feb. 28 last season against Georgia.
Richard on Saturday also added six rebounds.
It was a dominant half that Richard hopes help kickstart his season. He entered Saturday averaging just 8.3 points per game, down from his 10.4 points-per-game average last season.
“I’ve just been finding other ways to win,” Richard said. “Shooting’s not the only thing I’m good at, so just trying to find other ways to help our team win.”
But Richard wasn’t a one-man show for the Gators on Saturday.
Tyrese Samuel, a graduate transfer who spent his first four seasons at Seton Hall, scored 18 points and hauled in a career-high-tying 14 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The others came against Virginia on Nov. 10 and Pittsburgh on Nov. 22.
Zyon Pullin chipped in 12 off the bench and Riley Kugel added 11 points for UF. Micah Handlogten nearly had a double-double of his own with 8 points and 10 rebounds. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 8 points and dished out six assists.
Four players scored in double figures for the Spiders, who were making just their second appearance in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic — the other coincidentally enough was a 56-53 win over UF in 2009.
Neal Quinn led the way for Richmond with 17 points, while Mikkel Tyne had 16, Isaiah Bigelo 15 and Jordan King 14.
