Riley Kugel posterizes Wake Forest defender in first half of ACC/SEC Challenge

The ACC/SEC Challenge is taking place across college basketball on Wednesday night, putting teams from the ACC against teams from the SEC. Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel made one of the best plays of the night in the first half of Wednesday night’s matchup against Wake Forest, when he posterized Andrew Carr of the Demon Deacons, with an epic dunk in transition.

Riley. Kugel.#GoGators | 💻 https://t.co/Wj4XylwZnl pic.twitter.com/xeLBE0H8Dq

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 30, 2023

Kugel poured in 12 points in the first half, pushing the Gators to a 36-32 halftime lead. He also stuffed the stat sheet with two rebounds. Six of his 12 points in the first half came from beyond-the-arc. Kugel continued to make some impressive plays in the second half, including using a euro step to get a reverse layup.

Florida has won four of their first seven games on their schedule, with their three losses coming against Baylor, Virginia, and Wake Forest.

Wake Forest managed to battle back in the second half and took the lead, but Kugel answered yet again with a three-pointer.

He drained another three to tie the game at 64-64 with 4:55 left in the second half. But Wake Forest made some critical baskets down the stretch to stretch their lead to nine points with just over a minute to play.

The Demon Deacons ended up winning the game 82-71, after they outscored the Gators 49-36 in the second half.

Kugel finished the game with 24 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes of work. He hit 9 of his 14 shots with four three-pointers to lead the Gators in scoring. Florida got double digit performances from Zyon Pullin (12 points), Tyrese Samuel (12 points), and Walter Clayton, Jr. (12 points).

Kugel has shown to be one of the most explosive scorers in college basketball, pouring in over 20 points in three games this year for the Gators (Wake Forest, Baylor, and Loyola Maryland).

Wake Forest got double digit performances from Andrew Carr (22 points), Cam Hildreth (18 points), Kevin Miller (11 points), and Hunter Sallis (24 points). Carr drilled 8 of his 13 shots, while connecting on three 3-pointers.

The Demon Deacons didn’t pull away until the final minutes of the game. Florida hurt themselves with four turnovers in the closing minutes of the second half. Wake trailed by four points at halftime, but shot 61.5% in the second half to come away with the win.

Up next, Florida will battle Merrimack. That one is set for December 5th. Game time is set for 7:00 PM EST.