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NASHVILLE, Tenn. ― Florida basketball was in need of a second-half spark as its halftime lead whittled away to single digits in its SEC Tournament quarterfinal matchup against Missouri.
Florida Gators sophomore forward Thomas Haugh delivered by throwing his body around for loose balls and rebounds, drawing fouls and sinking clutch free throws.
The 6-foot-9 Haugh finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 27 minutes off the bench, lifting UF to a 95-81 win over the Tigers at Bridgestone Arena.
Haugh helped steady Florida late. UF had its 13-point halftime lead over Missouri dwindle to five points when a short jumper by guard Tamar Bates cut UF's lead to 75-70 with 7:02 remaining.
UF extended its lead back to nine points on an Alex Condon dunk and two Haugh free throws to go up 79-70. After Missouri cut UF's lead to 79-72, Haugh then drew a foul battling for an offensive rebound and made both free throws to put UF back up 81-72.
"I just wanted to fly and get a rebound," Haugh said. "That's what we needed. We needed to get rebounds, and I just tried my best to get one."
Haugh finished the game 10 of 12 from the foul line and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the final seven minutes.
"I worked a lot in the summer," Haugh said. "My foul shot percentage was really bad last year. That was an emphasis for me, that and three-point percentage. Kind of showed in the game today. I was able to step up and knock 'em down."
Haugh outplayed Missouri guard Caleb Grill in a head-to-head matchup of SEC Sixth Man of the Year award candidates. Grill, who won the award, finished with 11 points on 3 of 10 shooting and 2 of 7 shooting from 3-point range.
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said Haugh played a key role on both ends of the floor in the outcome. With forward Mark Mitchell out for Missouri, the Tigers tried to counter UF's size with smaller lineups.
"He did a great job," Golden said. "First of all, knocking his free throws down. This game, they were downsizing for sure. Not having Mitchell, they tried to spread us out and kind of put us in precarious positions defensively.
"Tommy is a front court player that can switch, that can keep guards in front. For him, in these types of games, it's more opportunistic to have him on the floor. He did a great job defensively. I thought he did a great job cleaning the glass in the second half."
Haugh is part of a four-post rotation that includes UF's starting 6-foot-10 center Rueben Chinyelu, starting 6-foot-11 forward Alex Condon and junior 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten. UF's size and depth across the frontline remains a strength for UF this postseason.
"We can sub off two bigs and then two even better bigs can come in," Haugh said. "Every sub we have, every big we have is a really, really good player so it's a luxury this team has."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball sophomore forward helps UF pull away from Missouri
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Florida Gators sophomore forward Thomas Haugh delivered by throwing his body around for loose balls and rebounds, drawing fouls and sinking clutch free throws.
The 6-foot-9 Haugh finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 27 minutes off the bench, lifting UF to a 95-81 win over the Tigers at Bridgestone Arena.
Haugh helped steady Florida late. UF had its 13-point halftime lead over Missouri dwindle to five points when a short jumper by guard Tamar Bates cut UF's lead to 75-70 with 7:02 remaining.
UF extended its lead back to nine points on an Alex Condon dunk and two Haugh free throws to go up 79-70. After Missouri cut UF's lead to 79-72, Haugh then drew a foul battling for an offensive rebound and made both free throws to put UF back up 81-72.
"I just wanted to fly and get a rebound," Haugh said. "That's what we needed. We needed to get rebounds, and I just tried my best to get one."
Haugh finished the game 10 of 12 from the foul line and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the final seven minutes.
"I worked a lot in the summer," Haugh said. "My foul shot percentage was really bad last year. That was an emphasis for me, that and three-point percentage. Kind of showed in the game today. I was able to step up and knock 'em down."
Why Florida basketball forward Thomas Haugh is valuable to UF
Haugh outplayed Missouri guard Caleb Grill in a head-to-head matchup of SEC Sixth Man of the Year award candidates. Grill, who won the award, finished with 11 points on 3 of 10 shooting and 2 of 7 shooting from 3-point range.
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said Haugh played a key role on both ends of the floor in the outcome. With forward Mark Mitchell out for Missouri, the Tigers tried to counter UF's size with smaller lineups.
"He did a great job," Golden said. "First of all, knocking his free throws down. This game, they were downsizing for sure. Not having Mitchell, they tried to spread us out and kind of put us in precarious positions defensively.
"Tommy is a front court player that can switch, that can keep guards in front. For him, in these types of games, it's more opportunistic to have him on the floor. He did a great job defensively. I thought he did a great job cleaning the glass in the second half."
Haugh is part of a four-post rotation that includes UF's starting 6-foot-10 center Rueben Chinyelu, starting 6-foot-11 forward Alex Condon and junior 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten. UF's size and depth across the frontline remains a strength for UF this postseason.
"We can sub off two bigs and then two even better bigs can come in," Haugh said. "Every sub we have, every big we have is a really, really good player so it's a luxury this team has."
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball sophomore forward helps UF pull away from Missouri
Continue reading...
