University of Arkansas sophomore Davonte Davis had his best scoring production of the new year and his second massive game against Florida with 19 points.
Davis made 7 of 10 shots, including another pair of three-pointers, went 3 for 4 from the free-throw line and added 6 rebounds in the No. 18 Razorbacks' 82-74 win at Florida.
Davis made the statement play of the game as well, breaking free for a transition dunk with 19 seconds remaining after a steal by Jaylin Williams that put Arkansas on top 80-73. Davis pulled himself up on the rim and slapped the backboard on the play, drawing a technical foul which he called a bad play.
“Won’t do it again,” Davis said. “I was going to be able to dunk the ball. I didn’t know if dude that was chasing me was going to clip me or not. That’s why I hung on the rim, but I never should have slapped the backboard. That was my fault.”
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman rode with the flow on the rim hang.
“I’m cool with it man,” Musselman said. “We won. He got up high and he’s emotional. I’m emotional. It’s all good man. We’ll take the ‘W’ and move on.”
Davis notched his best scoring game in SEC play this season. He led the Razorbacks with 19 points in last year’s 75-64 win over the Gators.
Davis provided an offensive spark moments after entering. He found JD Notae on a back-door cut for an uncontested layup at the 12:35 mark to draw the Hogs within 12-10.
After a Colin Castleton layup on the other end following a series of good passes, Davis got a screen on the left wing and drained the Hogs’ first three pointer of the game as Arkansas drew within 14-13.
Williams forceful
The positive presence of Jaylin Williams for Arkansas was made most evident when he wasn’t on the floor Tuesday.
Williams flirted with foul trouble almost the entire second half, but still contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double in a row and his 10th in the last 14 games.
The Razorbacks (22-6, 11-4 SEC) won their 12th game in their last 13 outings and snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Gators at the Exactech Center.
Williams drew his second personal foul with 5 seconds left in the first half about 92 feet from the basket on a hack of Colin Castleton after an inbound pass.
Williams made a leaner in the lane early in the second half but then picked up his third foul and went to the bench with Arkansas leading 43-38. The Razorbacks went on a foul-fest with Williams out of the game, as the Gators isolated Castleton on Kamani Johnson and drew fouls against him, Stanley Umude and Davonte Davis.
When Williams returned at the 13:57 mark, the Razorbacks trailed 46-44.
Williams made another jumper quickly after his return and contributed a crucial three-point shot from the top of the circle for a 63-62 lead to complete a 9-2 Arkansas run.
Castleton calls
Florida center Colin Castleton, one of the most gifted post players in the country, scored a career-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting as his teammates fed him repeatedly in the paint.
Castleton added six rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist, but his biggest contribution was as a magnet for Arkansas defenders, as he drew 11 fouls, including four against Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams.
Castleton went 9 of 10 from the free-throw line and displayed drop steps, pin moves, jump hooks, baby hooks and mid-range jumpers.
Castleton credited the Razorbacks with muscling him off his spots on some possessions and winning the rebound battle 39-31.
“I didn’t get as many rebounds as I should have,” Castleton said. “I only had six. … We did a horrible job on the glass as a team and at certain times they just bullied us.”
Florida Coach Mike White, speaking on the UF Radio Network, called Castleton an incredibly tough kid.
“He continues to come, fighting through contact, fighting through an injury, a significant injury,” White said. “Unfortunately he had a great performance in an ‘L.’ He did some things that were high level for us.
“The whole second half was really riding Colin on the interior. … He scored 29 but heck, he could’ve scored 30-something. That said, I thought we did a pretty good job of getting him deep touches, and he did a great job in traffic of playing with poise with a bunch of hands around him making the right decisions, kicking it out to the right guys.”
Big shot
JD Notae supplied a cold-blooded shot against Florida’s 1-3-1 zone to provide a dagger down the stretch.
Notae’s shot fake from the wing caused Anthony Duruji to jump for the block attempt and take himself out of the play.
Notae regathered himself, set his feet on the left wing and drained a three-pointer for a 75-71 Arkansas lead at the 1:05 mark.
On and off
Florida’s shooting and scoring have run hot and cold all season and that was evident in the first two segments of 3:20 in the game.
In the first of those, the Gators shot 4 of 5 from three-point range and held a 12-4 lead after Anthony Duruji’s long-range shot from the top of the circle at the 16:19 mark. By then, Tyree Appleby (Jacksonville) had made a pair of three-pointers, and Phlandrous Fleming had made one.
However, the Gators did not score for the next 4:04 as Arkansas pulled within 12-10 until Colin Castleton converted a layup at the 12:15 mark.
Charges taken
Jaylin Williams appears on every scouting report as a big man who will contend with drivers by setting his stance and drawing charging fouls, but opposing players can’t help themselves and dribble drive on him virtually every game. The 6-10 sophomore drew three charges against the Gators to take his season total to 44.
Williams appeared out of the blue as Florida’s Brandon McKissic drove past Stanley Umude toward the right block midway through the first half and got the charge call as the two had a knee-to-knee collision that knocked a hobbling McKissic out of the game for several minutes.
Later, Florida big man CJ Felder wound up with the ball after a scramble near mid-court and made the bad decision as an infrequent ball handler to power in. Williams was there and drew the charge.
In the second half, Colin Castelton rebounded his own miss and delivered a hard right shoulder into Williams to draw a charge and the turnover.
Late drought
The Razorbacks could not build on their 37-30 lead late in the first half. Arkansas did not score in the final 3:03, going 0 for 3 from the field as Florida pulled to within 37-34 on a couple of Colin Castleton buckets.
Jaylin Williams missed a jumper and JD Notae missed a pair of shots in the final segment of the half.
Toney takes
Guard Au’Diese Toney has a hot streak going at the free throw line. The 6-6 graduate transfer went 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Toney has made his last 13 free throws, which include a 6 of 6 showing at the line in Saturday’s win over Tennessee and connecting on his final free throw in a 4 of 6 performance at the line at Alabama.