Nearly one year ago on the dot, Florida held an 11-point lead with 11 minutes left in a road game against Wake Forest but ended up losing by 11 points. In the Gators’ matchup with the Demon Deacons on Thursday, they were faced with nearly the exact same scenario.
However, unlike last season, UF was able to hold off WFU largely behind its experienced and high-powered backcourt of senior guards Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, and Will Richard, who all recorded double-digit scoring marks.
When Clayton Jr. calmly stepped to the line and made four straight free throws after Wake head coach Steve Forbes was called for a double technical, leading to an ejection with 2:42 remaining in the game, the Gators had a victory all but sealed.
Despite its lowest scoring game this season, No. 18 Florida (7-0) held Wake Forest (6-2) to under 60 points in a 75-58 opening-round victory at the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida.
“That's been a big emphasis for us this year, just being better defensively,” Clayton Jr. said. “Obviously, we had Alijah [Martin] come in this year, and he's a great defender. He's been setting the tone for us.”
Neither team shot particularly efficiently in the opening half, as the Gators went just 11-of-31 (35 percent) from the field and 3-of-11 from 3-point range while the Demon Deacons also shot below 36 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Nevertheless, Wake had the Gators on upset watch in the early going, grabbing a 14-7 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the first half following a tip-in putback by Wake Forest freshman guard Juke Harris.
With UF entering the contest scoring over 82 points per game while being the No. 8 team in the nation in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, the Gators looked far from themselves, as they scored just 11 points in the first nine-plus minutes. However, just as the Demon Deacons’ lead swelled to 20-11 with 10:23 left in the first half, Florida flipped a switch.
Richard scored eight straight points for the Gators and threw down a baseline dunk assisted by Clayton Jr. that capped off a 12-2 run, giving Florida a 23-22 advantage with just under five minutes remaining before halftime. However, that wasn’t the end of UF’s dominant spurt.
The Gators scored six straight points in the final 1:38 of the first period, but Wake senior guard Hunter Sallis stepped to the charity stripe and made a pair of free throws to cut Florida’s lead to 32-28 at halftime.
Sallis, a McDonald’s All-American out of high school, entered Feast Week averaging 18.9 points per game and 4.3 assists per game this season. However, UF was sound in its defensive efforts against Sallis, holding the senior guard to 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting from the field and just 1-of-5 from 3-point range.
“We knew he was their guy, and to win a game you've gotta take away their guy,” Martin said. “That's what we were focused on. We came up with different strategies, different coverages, stuff like that. We scouted him very heavy to not let him do what he wanted to do out there.”
Florida’s aforementioned run that began at the 10:32 mark of the first half extended to 31-8 heading into the second half, largely in part to back-to-back 3-pointers made by Clayton Jr. in the first 1:08 of the period, giving the Gators a 38-28 lead.
From there, UF remained in control. Clayton Jr. went on to score 15 of his 21 points in the second half and recorded a 20-point performance for the third time this season on 6-of-18 shooting from the field and four 3-pointers. The senior guard also dished three assists and snagged three steals.
Martin and Richard followed Clayton Jr.’s lead offensively with 16 points and 14 points, respectively. The trio scored 45 of Florida’s first 64 points. UF sophomore forward Alex Condon rounded out its scoring attack with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Wake cut Florida’s lead to seven points with five-plus minutes remaining in the game, but that was as close as the score would get before Forbes was hit with a double-technical. The Demon Deacons shot just over 37 percent from the field for the game, including a shaky 3-for-20 (15 percent) performance from 3-point range.
It was far from the Gators’ best offensive display this season, as they knocked down just 23 of their 58 shots (40 percent) and shot an inconsistent 8-of-27 (30 percent) from 3-point range, but UF was an efficient 21-of-27 from the free throw line.
Next, Florida will compete in the championship game at the ESPN Events Invitational against Wichita State on Friday. Tip-off in Kissimmee is slated for 3:30 p.m.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
