Gators Roll Seminoles in Gainesville, 89-68
Emotions were palpable in the 75th annual meeting of Sunshine State foes on Friday night in Gainesville as the Florida Gators dismantled the Florida State Seminoles en route to an 89-68 victory.
"That was a statement win," head coach Todd Golden said postgame.
It is Florida's largest win in the series since the Billy Donovan-led squad took down the Noles 72-47 on Dec. 5, 2012. Golden moves to 2-0 against FSU as UF's head coach.
The Gators started hot out of the gates, displaying a notable fervor as they jumped out to a 27-5 lead thanks to a 19-1 run over 5:06 in the first ten minutes of the contest. They continued to pile on even as FSU's scoring drought ceased, totaling a season-high 52 first-half points on 64.5% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc.
Florida's impressive scoring output was a team-wide effort, catalyzed by unselfish ball movement. The Gators routinely passed upon good looks in favor of great ones, resulting in all eight players who saw the floor in the first half record at least one bucket.
Guard Walter Clayton Jr. led the effort, accounting for a team-leading 12 points and three assists while individually embodying the broader confidence the unit displayed. He finished with 19 points — connecting on three shots from beyond the arc — and five assists.
The Gators' first-half dominance resulted in an insurmountable 30-point halftime lead.
Florida's hot shooting presence cooled when the two units returned from the locker room break, resulting in the back-and-forth affair that saw Florida State find a rhythm offensively.
FSU outscored UF 46-37 in the half on the backs of Jamir Watkins and Cameron Corhen — who posted 15 and 18, respectively, on the night — to cut the deficit to as little as 19.
The Gators dealt with foul trouble early in the second half as Micah Handlogten, Tyrese Samuel and Alex Condon held four fouls each with over 14 minutes remaining, a product of the tightly called contest, which saw 51 combined fouls.
Despite the thin frontcourt, allowing Thomas Haugh to play in 26 minutes and lead the team in rebounds with 10, the cushion Florida built during the first 20 minutes proved sufficient to mitigate the damage.
Down the stretch, the emotions flared as Florida's State D'Ante Green took UF guard Zyon Pullin — who scored 15 points and accounted for four assists in his Gators debut — down to the hardwood. He was called for a flagrant two and ejected for the remainder of the contest. Cam'Ron Fletcher was also tossed for leaving the Noles bench during the skirmish.
Florida proceeded to cruise to its first win over a Power Six program this season.
The Gators will strive to maintain the momentum they created from the convincing rivalry victory as it retakes the hardwood on Wednesday in game one of the NIT Tip-Off Tournament. The unit will face the Pittsburgh Panthers in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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