Career-High Game For Derek Culver Not Enough as Florida Tops WVU, 85-80

Derek Culver scored a career-high 28 points, but the Florida Gators came into Morgantown Saturday afternoon and upset the No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers 85-80 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. For Florida (10-4, 6-3 SEC), it was the Gators’ fourth-straight victory while the Mountaineers (11-5, 4-3 Big 12) suffered their first loss since returning from COVID-19 protocols last week.

The first half featured as even, back-and-forth action as the Mountaineers have seen all season. The largest lead by either team was five by WVU just before halftime, on the back of the largest run of the half, six. WVU’s halftime lead of 42-37 was helped by a late block by junior college transfer Kedrian Johnson that led to a pair of free throws by Culver. Culver scored 21 points in the first half on perfect 6 of 6 shooting with 9 of 11 free throws.

The second half featured a high tempo but was just as evenly matched as the first. West Virginia increased its lead to seven on the first shot of the half, but Florida never let the lead grow any bigger than that, eventually taking the lead, 59-58 with 13:50 left. Just like the Mountaineers, however, the Gators could never build up much of a lead, with the game staying within five points for most of the half.

With one minute left to play, Florida was clutching to a three-point lead, 83-80. West Virginia has possession, but Florida’s defense deflected a pass across the half-court line, forcing senior Taz Sherman to take a desperation shot from half court. The Gators made both free throws on the other end of the court to go up by five and win the game, 85-80.

The referees called a close game, whistling Florida for 24 personal fouls and WVU for 21. The Mountaineers shot 22 of 31 from the free-throw line while the Gators shot 25 of 30.

Culver shot just 1 of 5 in the second half, finishing with 28 total points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Sean McNeil provided the outside shooting for the Mountaineers Saturday, scoring 21 points on 5 of 11 shooting from 3-point range. Overall, however, West Virginia struggled from range, shooting 8 of 28 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc, much lower than in recent games. Sophomore point guard Miles “Deuce” McBride had an unusually quiet game, scoring nine points on 3 of 15 shooting with six rebounds and nine assists.

Florida was led by forward Colin Castleton, who scored 21 points with seven rebounds and five blocks despite being matched up with Culver for much of the game. Noah Locke scored 19 with four 3-pointers.