Gators Dominate Oregon State to Bounce Back in PK85 with 81-68 Victory

The Florida Gators dominate Oregon State en route to a bounce-back victory in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.

Pure dominance from start to finish for Florida.

The Gators (4-2) avenged their loss to Xavier on Thursday night with a statement victory over Oregon State in the first consultation round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament on Friday night as they dominated from start to finish against Oregon State.

Florida, who fell to the Musketeers 90-83 a night ago, improves to 1-1 in the tournament and 4-2 on the season as a whole.

Todd Golden's squad shined in the first half by building a 42-29 lead heading into the halftime break on the back of guard Trey Bonham. For the second game in a row, the VMI transfer started fast by showcasing his offensive prowess with multiple finishes at the rim and three triples to post 13 first-half points.

He was just a snapshot of the unit as a whole.

Opening the game with a 22-4 lead while shooting 72.7% from the floor, the Gators showed that the offensive success that kept them close against Xavier on Thursday was not a fluke. However, this time it was accompanied by the defensive effort that the unit has lacked in the early portion of the season.

The unit made a considerable effort to hold the Beavers to a four-for-20 start from the field and forced four turnovers through the first ten minutes of the game to create opportunities on the other end. Oregon State 

Oregon State surged late in the first half with a 16-8 run beginning with just under 5:30 left to cut the Gators' 23-point lead to 12 heading into the intermission.

The second half brought much of the same dominance from Florida.

UF kept the Beavers at an arm's length throughout with contributions on the scoreboard from all 10 players who saw action. That included former starting wing Kowacie Reeves Jr., who didn't see the floor against Xavier due to a coach's decision, as he slammed through a highlight reel up-and-under dunk from the baseline.

👀🐊Welcome back, Kowacie Reeves. #Gators pic.twitter.com/jmMuimID5o

— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) November 26, 2022

Bonham and Richard starred for the second night in a row to lead all Gators scorers with 19 and 13 respectively. Center Colin Castleton produced a relatively quiet evening with a mere 12 points but added six rebounds, three blocks and a team-leading four assists on the day to maintain productivity.

True freshman Riley Kugel also put on the best performance of his young collegiate career with 10 points off the bench, underlined by an And-1 finish midway through the second half to maintain Florida's near-20-point lead.

As a unit, UF fired on all cylinders to shoot at a 57% clip to produce their fourth 80-point performance of the year. Oregon State cut the deficit to 12 in the final four minutes but was unable to mount the considerable run to overtake the lead that Florida held from the very start.

The Gators will round out the PK85 tournament on Sunday as they take on the winner of West Virginia and Portland. The time for that contest is still to be determined.

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