Clayton, Richard combine for 54 as Gators take out South Florida, 98-83

Walter Clayton Jr. goes baseline in the second half against South Florida (UAA Photo)

JACKSONVILLE -- In many respects, Florida’s 98-83 win over South Florida Monday night at the VyStar Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum was a typical season opener. The Gators made and overcame enough mistakes that Todd Golden won’t lack for teaching moments anytime soon. Despite missing way too many wide open 3-pointers, playing sloppy at both ends of the floor and leaving their defense on the bus that brought them from Gainesville the Gators opened the 2024-25 season with a quality win over a team that won 25 games and the American Athletic Conference regular season championship a year ago.

“You know, that’s a really good team,” Golden said. “I think they have great perimeter shooting, they have great playmaking, they have some big bodies inside ... They're really good, and I think they'll continue to be really good over the rest of the year. They put pressure on us in the first half, and I did not think we handled it very well.”

For most of the first half, South Florida controlled the tempo at both ends of the floor. Defensively, they wouldn’t let the Gators get into any kind of rhythm to the point that nothing was working, whether inside or outside. Offensively, they consistently beat the Gators down the court in transition and they kept making the extra pass to perimeter shooters who knocked down open looks.

It was enough to stake South Florida to a 36-23 lead with 6:13 to go before the intermission, but that’s when the Gators got their act together, at least from an offensive standpoint. Walter Clayton Jr. began a mini-rally when he drove to the rack and stuck in a bank off the glass with 5:51 to go. That’s when Will Richard took the game over, going on a flurry during a span of 1:15 to sandwich a layup in transition between a pair of 3-pointers to bring the Gators back within three, 36-33. It was a banked 15-foot jumper with one second left in the half that cut the lead back to a single point, 40-39, the first time the game was that close since the 11:26 mark when the Bulls took a 17-16 lead on a 3-ball by Jimmie Williams.

“You know, we were just so out of sorts, and we were starting to do some things that we don't ever do, and so we just wanted to kind of get ourselves back organized,” Golden said. “I thought Will was huge in that moment. He had some big shots. He kind of took the lid off the rim in the first half. I think he scored eight points in a row, and that kind of calmed us a little bit.”

At halftime, the Gators were only 3-17 shooting from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Gators gave up 6-15 shooting from deep, so to trail by a single point was somewhat of an accomplishment. The Gators showed plenty of resilience in erasing 12 points from a 13-point deficit but that skimmed over the problem of digging a deep hole to begin with.

Golden credited South Florida with a strong defensive effort that forced the Gators out of their comfort zone. As disappointed as he was with falling behind by 13, he was quick to praise his team for having the wherewithal to mount a comeback.

“They put pressure on us in the first half, and I did not think we handled it very well,” Golden said, adding a little later, “They're fast, and they get out, and they were getting downhill on us, and I think we're a little surprised by that, but I was proud of the way we rallied, obviously being down 13 in the first half. You know, a weak-minded team might not be able to come back the way we did.”

Despite the poor shooting (3-17) from the 3-point line in the first half, the Gators did convert 13-17 from inside the arc. The adjustment at the half was to look for fewer 3-pointers while concentrating on attacking the rim. That led to 29 free throw attempts -- Gators made 23 -- and that was the difference in the final outcome.

The game was still tight until the midway point of the second half when the Gators went on a 13-0 run to take command. Leading 63-62 with 10:43, Alijhah Martin got to the foul line for four straight points to kickstart the run that was finished off on a 3-point play by Clayton that made it 76-62 with 6:43 left in the game.

“We did not shoot a good percentage from three [in the first half],” Golden said. “I thought we were settling. We weren't putting pressure on the rim. We weren't putting pressure on the refs to make any calls. We only shot four free throws in the first half. So a big part of the message at halftime was not allowing them to keep us on one side of the floor, working on getting downhill, getting middle, and then putting pressure on the rim. And we started with finishes, and then over the course of the half, we just wore them down a little bit, started getting them out of position defensively, trying to finish with their bodies and get to the line.

“So obviously we scored 59 points in the second half. We were much more effective that way. But the goal is to do that each half, and I thought we were a little soft on the offensive end in the first half.”

Clayton, who scored nine first half points, exploded for 20 in the second half as he consistently beat his defender off the dribble to get to the rack. He was 5-5 from inside the arc, 1-2 on 3-balls and 7-7 from the foul line.

Richard, who had 12 in the first half, added 13 second half points. It wasn’t a vintage shooting night from the 3-point line for Richard, who can go into a shooter’s coma when it seems he can’t miss. He hit only 2-7 from the 3-point line but overall he was 10-17 from the field and 3-3 from the foul line for a 25-point effort.

Florida Atlantic transfer Alijhah Martin threw up six SCUDS from the 3-point line but he finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. He came away with four steals showing the ability to play physical  defense without fouling.

“He obviously didn't shoot the ball well from three tonight, but I thought he was really good on the glass,” Golden said. “I thought he did a good job getting steals, good with the ball, three assists, one turnover. You know, and he's a confident guy, right? Getting downhill, even he's not making shots, he's still putting pressure on the rim, getting to the line. Had, I think, one or two really tough and one finishes in the second half that were big momentum moments for us. So, you know, even though he didn't shoot the ball well, he was still able to find ways to help us win tonight.”

The Gators got only 23 points from their big guys, 13 of which came from Alex Condon, who was whistled for four fouls, three of which were cheapies. Condon also contributed five rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. Chattanooga transfer Sam Alexis had six points, four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. Washington State transfer Rueben Chinyelu only had two points but he grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot.

Thomas Haugh scored only two points, but he affected the game on both ends of the court in both halves, finishing the night with six rebounds, two assists and a steal.

“He's a guy that can affect the game positively without scoring, and I thought we needed more of that tonight,” Golden said. “I thought he was good defensively for most of the game. Obviously, six rebounds kind of kept us in our stuff offensively.”

For the game, the Gators shot 33-63 from the field overall but only 5-25 from the 3-point line. The Gators were 28-38 (73.6 percent) on their 2-point shots and 79.3 percent (27-33) from the foul line.

South Florida lit up the Gators from the 3-point line, hitting 13-27 but the Bulls didn’t have the inside game that could get them to the foul line consistently. They hit 14-17 of their free throws, but that was a 15-made shot difference which showed in the final outcome.

The Gators will play their home opener Thursday night at the O-Dome against Jacksonville, a 78-65 winner Monday night against Trinity Baptist.