First Half Dominance

The Gators (4-3) got off to a slow start, trailing 15-8 early on. However, they responded with a strong offensive surge led by sophomore guard Riley Kugel, who scored 16 points in the half. Wake Forest struggled to find their rhythm and shot less than 40% from the field. Florida led 39-35 at halftime.

Second-Half Struggle

The Gators extended their lead to 45-36 early in the second half, but they went ice cold from the three-point line and struggled to maintain their composure. Florida shot less than 28% from beyond the arc and went 3 for 11. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton combined to shoot 6 for 24 from the field and 1 for 9 from three-point range.

Kugel added eight points in the second half to finish with 24 points, his second consecutive game with 20 or more points.

Coach Golden's Comments

"I thought we did a great job in the first half," head coach Todd Golden said. "Limited them to 40 percent from the field, 32 points. In the second half, they made a lot of 2s, a lot of tough 2s, and obviously they shot 20 free throws in the second half."

Golden pointed to a few key plays that turned the tide in the game. "After we got up by nine in the second half we had multiple opportunities to extend that thing into double figures," he said. "I think one turnover, one good shot that we missed just allowed them to have a little hope and a little belief, as opposed to being able to close them out. A good team, with a veteran backcourt and a really good coach. Those guys aren't going to go away unless you make them, and we just weren't ever able to really get that thing over that hump. To their credit, they made some big shots and allowed themselves to climb back in that thing."

Wake Forest Comeback

For Wake Forest (5-3), Hunter Sallis scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half, and Andrew Carr recorded 10 points to complete the comeback.

Up Next

The Gators return to the O'Connell Center on Tuesday night to host Merrimack. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.