There was a much different feeling down the stretch for Florida than in its nail-biting victory on the road against South Carolina on Wednesday.
In that matchup, it took a game-winning layup with seconds remaining to escape with a win. In this one, it was a 30-point rout of the Bulldogs that allowed UF’s starters to take a seat with over two minutes remaining as the Stephen C. O’Connell Center rose to its feet in applause.
With five players finishing with double-digit scoring marks, No. 5 Florida (18-2, 5-2 SEC) used an all-around dominant performance on both ends to take down Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC) 89-59 on Saturday.
“The thing that I’m most happy about is that we came out with a great mentality, similar to last Saturday against Texas,” UF head coach Todd Golden said. “What we’re trying to impress upon our team is if we bring that elite mentality and effort level in every game, especially at home, we’re gonna be really tough to play with.”
There was no shortage of offensive firepower for the Gators. Senior guard Walter Clatyon Jr. and Alijah Martin both scored 17 points and combined for eight assists. Fellow senior guard Will Richard added 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from distance.
Sophomore forward Thomas Haugh posted a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double and sophomore forward Alex Condon added 14 points with eight rebounds and four assists.
Martin wasted no time getting hot. The FAU transfer flushed a dunk, made two 3-pointers and finished a layup that gave him 11 of Florida’s first 16 points while the Gators held a 16-11 lead over the Bulldogs just over five minutes into the game.
“We got a tendency of coming out slow and tonight we wasn’t gonna do that,” Martin said. “Once we got the ball rolling, we just kept it going.”
An off-balance 2-point jumper by Condon to go along with four points from sophomore forward Thomas Haugh in just over two minutes off the bench allowed Florida to extend its lead to 20-11 with 12:54 left in the first half and helped the Gators ripped off a massive run.
Florida’s 11-0 run was capped off with a pair of free throws by Richard that pushed its lead to 25-11 with 11:46 remaining before halftime. From there, Richard buried two 3-pointers less than two minutes apart that allowed the Gators to break open a 38-19 lead before riding their momentum to a 51-26 advantage at halftime.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Georgia went on an 8-0 run but it was Condon who scored Florida’s first three field goals out of the break as UF held a commanding 57-36 lead with 14:53 left in regulation.
Three straight layups by Clayton Jr. sparked a 10-0 run by the Gators (amid a 2-for-13 shooting stretch for UGA) midway through the second half that kept the Bulldogs at bay for the rest of the way. Golden made it clear postgame just how much Clayton Jr. has meant to the Gators this season.
“Fantastic player,” Golden said. “He does a great job playing with good pace and patience, and the game I don’t wanna say it comes easy to him but a little bit, you know. He sees things that other guys don’t and he’s able to get to his spots.”
As a team, UF shot 34-of-64 from the field (53%) and 9-of-26 from 3-point range (35%). However, it was Florida’s points coming off turnovers (29) and points inside the paint (44) that played a massive part in its blowout win.
Defensively, UF’s active hands and consistent ability to disrupt UGA’s passing lanes was evident. The Gators forced 18 turnovers and held Georgia freshman forward Asa Newell, who was averaging 15.5 points per game entering the contest, to just eight on Saturday.
“He [Newell] was a big guy on the scout,” Condon said. “He’d been playing pretty well so we just tried to keep the ball out of his left hand when he was driving and make him finish with his right. I think we executed that down the stretch.”
Next, Florida will hit the road for a rematch against No. 6 Tennessee. Tip-off from the Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville is on Feb. 1 at noon ET.
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to 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.
