Texas Longhorns Blown Out by No. 5 Florida Gators in SEC Play

Texas Longhorns men's basketball fell to 1-4 in SEC after Saturday's loss to the Florida Gators.

Jan 18, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) drives to the basket past Florida Gators guard Will Richard (5) during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns men's basketball was unable to build off of its first SEC win in program history during Saturday's trip to Gainsville.

Alijah Martin scored a game-high 22 points and No. 5 Florida answered every punch from Texas in the second half before pulling away from the Longhorns for an 84-60 win. The Longhorns trailed 61-54 with 8:24 to play before an 8-0 run by the Gators put the game out of reach. Texas kept within reach for most of the second half before Florida pulled away late to make the final score a bit misleading.

Texas freshman guard Tre Johnson had a team-high 16 points, Tramon Mark finished with 12 points and Arthur Kaluma had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ze'Rik Onyema played his best game of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds, a team-high three assists and two steals.

Jan 18, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Alijah Martin (15) looks to pass away from Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. added 19 points and four rebounds while forward Alex Condon finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

The Longhorns led by as many as six in the early going after a hot start from Johnson, who had nine of Texas' first 14 points. A layup by Onyema made it an 18-13 Texas lead with 12:10 in the first half, but that's when the game changed in Florida's favor.

The Gators proceeded to put together a 15-0 that featured seven points from Clayton Jr. to take a 28-18 lead. The Longhorns were never able to recover despite trailing 37-30 at halftime. Texas cut the deficit to seven multiple times in the second half but the Gators answered every time the Longhorns found any momentum.

Texas will look to bounce back in Wednesday's home game against the Missouri Tigers.

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