Lee's Big Half Pushes Gators to Needed Win Over Providence

A dominant second half helped the Gators throttle the Friars to pull away and pick a win in the third-place game

Lee came up big, helping the Gators bounce back from the loss against TCU | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Led by Xaivian Lee’s second-half outburst and Urban Klavzar’s efforts off the bench, the No. 10 Florida Gators outclassed the Providence Friars 90-78 on Friday in the Rady Children’s Invitational. 

Lee stole the show on Friday, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the second half. He looked comfortable on the court, making stepback shots and getting to the shots he wanted. As for Klavzar, he still had the hot hand from Thursday’s contest, pouring in 18 points from the reserves. 

Boogie Fland, Rueben Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh were all in double digits in the scoring department, as well. Fland ended with 17, Chinyelu with 13 and Haugh with 16. Haugh and Chinyelu also had double-doubles, grabbing 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively. 

Florida started strong from deep on Friday, connecting on their first two 3-pointers against Providence. Fland hit the first one for the offense, and Haugh nailed the second one. Haugh’s put them in front 6-3. 

Klavzar carried his hot shooting performance against TCU into the contest against Providence. He knocked down his first mid-range jumper and 3-pointer in the game, with his triple giving the Gators an 18-14 lead with 10:27 left in the first. 

The Gators then started running away with things over the next five minutes. They moved the ball well, played good defense, and worked their way to the foul line to push out in front 35-22 by the 5:27 mark. 

However, Providence cut the lead in half over the final five minutes of the half. Florida led Providence 45-39 going into the break. 

There were three standouts from the first 20 minutes for the Gators. Haugh and Chinyelu each had 11 points while Klavzar recorded 10 first-half points. Chinyelu also had six rebounds, and Haugh added four rebounds and three assists to his first-half stat sheet. 

Despite a quiet first period, Lee had a loud beginning to the second period for the Gators. It started with a stepback, ankle-breaking 3-pointer and was followed up with another triple on the next possession. This pair of threes put the Gators ahead 51-40. 

don’t know about y’all- we wanted to see it from another angle 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/TuznxdUJ9H

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 28, 2025

Lee’s energy was contagious as it trickled over to his running mate in the backcourt, Fland. The point guard connected on a pair of threes a couple of minutes later, extending the Gators' lead to 59-47. 

Fland and Lee also scored the team’s first 18 points in the second half. The former had six points in the first seven minutes, and the latter had 12. 

Florida continued to push the lead even further across the next six minutes. Behind multiple Gator scorers, their lead eventually ballooned to 18 points with just under nine minutes remaining. 

From here, Florida kept its opponents at arm's length. Providence tried clawing back into the contest, but was met with resistance any time they started to have momentum. 

By the final whistle, the Gators were in front 90-78. 

Up Next

Florida continues their road trip for the next two games. The Gators travel to Durham, N.C., to take on the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Then, they’ll go further north for a rematch with the UConn Huskies on Dec. 9 at 9 p.m. in New York, NY, in the Jimmy V Classic.