GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Chaney Johnson nearly recorded his first double-double but No. 12 Auburn fell behind early and trailed throughout, falling to Florida 81-65 Saturday at Exatech Arena, ending the Tigers' three-game winning streak.
"Florida played great. They were ready to go," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "They scored every time they touched it in the first half. There were a lot of things we talked about doing that we just did not get done. I think Florida is going to be one of the top five teams in our league. They were very physical."
Johnson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored nine points on 3-for-4 shooting.
"Chaney is one of our best athletes," Pearl said. "Florida was very athletic, bouncy and fresh. They were extremely prepared and ready. We had a really good game plan but we did not execute it."
Johni Broome scored a team-high 14 points and added seven rebounds. K.D. Johnson scored 12 points and Denver Jones added 10.
Florida, which had extra time to rest and prepare for Auburn after not playing since last Saturday, scored the game's first nine points before Broome's dunk accounted for Auburn's first points.
"Our guys just were not as locked in nor as aggressive or physical," Pearl said. "Florida was better than us tonight. Their guards were terrific. As a result, they got the win."
The Gators used a 10-0 run to build a 17-point lead and led 42-26 at the half.
Auburn committed 15 turnovers while forcing only seven, leading to Florida's 16-7 edge in points off turnovers. The Gators made 10 steals to Auburn's one. Florida blocked six shots while Broome's two blocks were Auburn's only rejections.
Florida missed its last 14 shots as Auburn trimmed 13 points off a 29-point deficit to close the final margin to 16 points.
Riley Kugel scored a game-high 22 points for Florida (16-7, 6-4). Fellow guards Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin scored 20 and 19, respectively.
Auburn (19-5, 8-3) returns to Neville Arena Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. CT to host first-place South Carolina on SEC Network.
"We've got an opportunity," Pearl said. "If we think Florida was physical, South Carolina is even more physical."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
FLORIDA POSTGAME NOTES
» Florida and Auburn have now split the last eight games in the series. The Gators lead, 52-29, in games played in Gainesville including 15 straight wins and victories in 20 of the last 21. AU still leads 91-83 in the all-time versus UF.
» Bruce Pearl is 12-13 against Florida during his coaching career including 4-8 at Auburn. Pearl is 3-9 lifetime on the road against the Gators including 0-6 at Auburn. He is now 1-1 against second-year Florida head coach Todd Golden, who served on Pearl's staff at Auburn for two seasons – as the director of basketball operations for the 2014-15 season and as an assistant coach for the 2015-16 campaign.
» Auburn outscored Florida, 40-38, in the paint. The Tigers have outscored their opponent in the paint in 22 of 24 games this season and were even with St. Bonaventure in paint points in one of the other two games. Mississippi State is the only team to outscore Auburn in the paint this season, doing so 34-20 on Jan. 27.
» AU also outscored Florida, 31-28, in bench points. The Tigers' reserves have outscored its opponents' bench in all but one game this season including the last 17 contests.
» Auburn shot 14-of-26 (53.8%) from the floor in the second half. It was the fourth time the Tigers have shot at least 50 percent for a half over the last four games.
» Auburn placed three players in double figures including 14 points from Johni Broome, 12 points from K.D. Johnson and 10 points from Denver Jones – all in the second half. Broome was 6-of-11 from the floor and 1-of-2 from long range. It was his 15th straight game in double figures. He is 8-of-16 from 3-point range over the last seven games making a 3-pointer in all seven games. He added seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist on the afternoon. Broome has blocked a shot in 18 of the last 19 games including 15 multi-block games during that stretch. He has now recorded 135 blocked shots in his Auburn career surpassing former Tiger Pat Burke for 10th in program history.
» Johnson scored in double figures for the second time in three games and seventh time this season. It was Johnson's 58th career game in double figures. He was 4-of-7 from the floor, including one 3-pointer, and grabbed three rebounds at Florida.
» Jones finished 3-of-6 from the floor, 1-of-2 from 3-point range and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line against the Gators. He pulled down one rebound on the afternoon. It was his third game in double figures over the last four games and eighth of the season. It was also Jones' 54th career game scoring in double figures.
» Chaney Johnson recorded SEC season highs with nine points and 10 rebounds at Florida. His previous highs in league play were eight points at Mississippi State and five rebounds against Ole Miss. It was his second game with double-digit rebounds on the season (11 boards vs. SE Louisiana).
» Jaylin Williams played in his 131st career game for the Tigers, tying him with Bryce Brown for second in program history and three games behind Frankie Sullivan's school record 134 career games.