Gators defeat Michigan in double OT behind Zyon Pullin heroics
The Gators won their fourth game in a row Tuesday night with a thrilling double overtime victory over Michigan in the Jumpman Invitational. Graduate transfers Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel led Florida with a pair of 20-point performances.
Down 89-86 late in the first OT, Samuel grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Pullin, who knocked down a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to force another overtime. Florida went on an 11-0 run in the second OT and pulled out the 106-101 win.
“It was obviously a huge win for our program,” UF coach Todd Golden said in his postgame radio interview. “Got down late, found a way to come back. ZP, huge 3 at the end of the first overtime to give us another overtime to try to find a way. Hit some big shots down the stretch to get that 9-point lead. Credit to them. They made some tough ones to keep it tight, but a huge win for our program.”
Pullin posted a season-high 22 points and his first 20-point game as a Gator. UF shot just 62 percent from the line, but Pullin made 8 of 10 free throws and had a buzzer beater at the end of the first half. He also led the team with five assists.
“I just stayed aggressive,” Pullin said in his postgame radio interview. “I wanted to keep pushing in transition and just made some plays down the stretch.”
Samuel scored 21 points on 9 of 12 shooting and a grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. It marked his second 20-point performance and his fourth double-double this season. Samuel also had three blocks along with Alex Condon, who had 14 points off the bench.
Junior guards Will Richard and Walter Clayton Jr. scored 17 and 12 points, respectively, with both players making some key shots during the second overtime. Sophomore center Micah Handlogten had 9 points and 9 rebounds before fouling out in the first OT.
In a game that saw 15 ties and 16 lead changes, it was back and forth during the final 10 minutes of the second half. Florida was up 81-77 lead with 59 seconds left in regulation, but a late turnover and a poor inbounds play by UF allowed Michigan to force overtime.
Michigan built an early 8-point lead behind strong starts from sophomore guard Dug McDaniel and senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua, both of whom accounted for 21 of the team’s first 23 points. McDaniel matched his career high with 33 points and Nkamhoua finished with 24.
Florida battled back in the first half behind a 10-point performance from Condon. In the final seconds, Condon snatched an alley-oop pass and threw it ahead to Pullin, who buried the buzzer beater 3 to give the Gators a 38-37 halftime lead.
Florida (8-3) remains undefeated in December and returns home to close out the month on Friday against Grambling State (2-8) and Dec. 30 against Quinnipiac (7-3).
