Florida Coach Mike White made it a point to pull sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen aside for a quick talk before the Gators' SEC opener at Walton Arena on Thursday.
White wanted to prepare Allen (North Little Rock) for the possibility that he would be greeted with boos by Arkansas fans in his return to his home state.
Allen was booed, both in pre-game introductions and every time he touched the ball for much of the first half. Allen wasn't fazed, though, as he hit three of his five three-pointers and scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half as Florida (10-3, 1-0 SEC) built a lead it wouldn't relinquish in an 81-72 victory over the Razorbacks.
"I really wasn't paying attention to the crowd," Allen said. "It didn't matter to me."
Allen's response to the crowd didn't surprise his head coach.
"KeVaughn's as steady a kid as I've ever coached," White said. "He's as even keel as any player, he's as calm, as laid back. That's just his demeanor."
The boos had mostly disappeared when Allen's final three-pointer extended Florida's lead to 68-58 with a little more than six minutes left. The shot and a subsequent dunk by Florida guard Kasey Hill prompted pockets of the season-best crowd of 16,035 to head for the exits, but not the 30-plus family and friends Allen estimated he had in the stands cheering for him.
"It was good for them to come see me play, knowing that they can't come to Florida every home game," Allen said.
Junior forward Devin Robinson added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Gators, while junior center John Egbunu had 5 points and 11 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive end.
The Gators led by as much as 16 down the stretch as Arkansas (11-2, 0-1) lost its fourth SEC opener in the last five years. Florida used a 16-7 run in the first half to stretch a one-point lead into a 41-31 advantage, a hole Arkansas couldn't recover from.
The Razorbacks were plagued by another poor first half on the offensive end, an issue that hurt them in their loss at Minnesota and forced them to rally in a victory against Texas. Arkansas shot just 37.9 percent Thursday and turned the ball over 10 times in the opening half.
Junior guard Daryl Macon was a bright spot, scoring a game-high 22 points. He hit 7 of 10 shots, including 3 of 5 from three-point range, to lead the Razorbacks in scoring for the fourth consecutive game. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 35.3 percent.
"I thought [Macon] was a guy that showed up for us," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "We had some guys that didn't show, but I thought Macon played. He got us going early and even as we were making our runs."
Moses Kingsley was among the Razorbacks who struggled on the offensive end. The SEC's preseason player of the year finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks, but made just 5 of 15 shots and turned the ball over 3 times, often struggling to handle Florida double teams or failing to finish in the lane over the Gators' length.
"Gotta show up," Anderson said. "It's conference time. Players show up now."
Kingsley helped Arkansas grab as many rebounds (37) as Florida, but the Gators attacked the offensive glass effectively, turning 16 offensive boards into 18 second-chance points. The Gators also limited turnovers, finishing with nine. The offensive rebounding and ball control allowed Florida to limit Arkansas to just seven fast-break points.
"I think our main thing tonight was our defensive boards," Macon said. "... We just had a lot of breakdowns tonight. It's just one of those games where they're on and we're not. You have those kind of games, but it's going to be a bad taste in our mouth until Tuesday."
That's when Arkansas plays at Tennessee
Florida turned the ball over on its first two possessions of the second half and Arkansas quickly cut the lead to 45-42. But that's as close as the Razorbacks got after halftime as Florida re-asserted itself and extended the lead to 11, 56-45 with 14:17 left in the game.
The Hogs trimmed it to eight just past the midway point of the second half, but Allen answered with a three. They cut it to seven a few minutes later, but that just set the stage for a step-back, fadeaway three-pointer for Allen.
He cracked a smile on the way back up the court. It was that kind of game.
"Tonight was just his night," Macon said.
Sports on 12/30/2016