No. 5 Florida has a variety of goals it hopes to achieve in the next month, including winning SEC and National Championships. However, Saturday evening served as a moment for the present. A chance to celebrate UF basketball’s stars — senior guards Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard.
Each got their moment with their family, bathing in the raining cheers of Florida’s enamored fans. But the grandest celebration came on the court, and for no one more than Clayton Jr.
With a 40-37 lead early in the second half, Florida struggled to separate. That was until Clayton Jr. got the ball. In over 20 seconds, the All-American candidate drove to the basket, weaving through contact for a much-needed UF score. He drifted down the court, guarding Ole Miss senior guard Dre Davis to a miss. Next, after bringing the ball back up to the top of the key, he didn’t hesitate from 25 feet out, opening a 14-0 run that ended any Ole Miss upset hopes.
Despite an emotional evening for UF’s senior stars, the trio put together one of its most well-rounded performances of the season, scoring a combined 46 points to put a bow on their time in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Behind their typical offensive firepower, No. 5 Florida (27-4) defeated Ole Miss 90-71 to conclude a historic season in Gainesville.
“I feel really good having Walt, Will and Alijah out there,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “Being able to play through them and having their experience, and their success and their confidence, and their maturity and their leadership. They've been great all year”
However, the trio’s well-deserved night in the spotlight wasn’t without some concerns.
As the opening minutes of Florida and Ole Miss’ (21-10) regular season-concluding matchup were underway, UF’s student section worked on pilates-esque breathing exercises. With every Gator deep shot, the crowd would take a breath in, immersing the O’Dome in a deafening silence. But as UF opened the game with an abnormal 2-for-10 clip from three, a collective sigh would depart following each shot.
Florida finished the first 10 minutes shooting well below its season-average 46.8%, dropping to 41.2% after a miss by Martin bounced over the backboard.
“We had some good momentum, and credit to them, to Ole Miss, they hit a big three,” Golden said. “And then we got lost in transition, gave up an and-1 lay-up, they cut it to four, and we just allowed them to get back in the game.”
However, as they’ve done throughout Florida’s most inspiring campaign since the 2013-14 squad’s Final Four appearance, the starring trio found their rhythm.
After a sluggish first half, which featured 14 fouls between the two teams and an atypically low 29 points from UF through 16 minutes, Clayton Jr. danced near the sideline before knocking down his first three of the night. Twenty-two seconds later, he launched yet another, maybe five feet deeper, as the Florida crowd erupted.
The senior, who leads UF in scoring at 17 points per game, fittingly finished with a game-high 23 points and eight assists. His evening wasn’t to overshadow that of Richard and Martin as well.
Richard, who entered the night averaging 21 points per game over the last two weeks, added 10 on Saturday, hitting a critical rolling three out of the second half 16-minute media timeout. The shot capped off UF’s 14-point spurt, which ended the game, essentially.
“The last stop on that first tour… I had was in Nashville to go see a Belmont transfer named Will Richard,” Golden said about his trust in Richard. “I can’t say enough about him.”
The final of the trio, Martin, dropped a critical 13 points as well. That total placed him behind only two Gators, including sophomore forward Alex Condon, who, on any other evening, would’ve been the star.
Coming off of a career-high 27 points in UF’s upset of No. 7 Alabama on Wednesday, Condon notched another efficient outing.
With four minutes to go and the game nearly out of reach, Condon set up on the perimeter in front of the alumni section. After the ball fluidly weaved from Martin’s hands, the sophomore rose and launched, presenting his over 4% three-point shooting improvement from last year. Seven seconds later, he cut off an Ole Miss pass up the court as UF’s crowd erupted.
“This seems to be a good fit,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard mused after the game about Condon. “[He] can play around the basket, stretch the floor. His 3-point shooting, [he’s] kind of a poised player.”
Everything seemed right for Condon on Saturday, as he finished the game with 17 points, coming on a 6-for-7 clip. He led UF with 15 rebounds, while the Gators grabbed 12 more rebounds than the Rebels and scored 19 second-chance points to Ole Miss’ 11.
With Florida preparing to conclude its first 27-win regular season since 2014, Richard, Clayton Jr. and Martin took in their final moments in the O’Dome, as Golden subbed them out with two minutes left. The much-deserved curtain call resulted in the crowd’s largest roar of the night and a subsequent “It’s great to be a Florida Gator!” chant — a ceremonial closing of a chapter that began at different periods for each player.
“That’s what makes it so special,” Richard said. “Seeing how we’ve grown from that first year to now and how we’ve completely changed things around this. It’s what makes it fun to be a part of this program.”
As a group, they guided Florida to one of its most successful campaigns in years, which will now continue as the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. The Gators will venture to Nashville having nearly fulfilled their NCAA Tournament top-seed aspirations. With a win or two, the Gators can secure their first No. 1 seed since 2014.
“We don’t really pay too much attention to that. We’re just trying to go out there and win every game,” Richard said. “We’re going to go out there and attack.”
UF will go into battle next on Friday, facing one of No. 15 Missouri, No. 25 Mississippi State or LSU at 7 p.m. EDT.
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X @noahwhite1782.
Noah is a Spring 2025 Assistant Sports Editor and Copy Desk Chief. He's a second-year journalism major who enjoys reading and shamefully rooting for Tennessee sports teams. He is also a Liberty League Women's Soccer expert.
