Great play off the bench sparks Gators to 87-69 blowout of UVa

Denzell Aberdeen (11) sizes up Virginia's Andrew Rohde (UAA Photo)

For the first few minutes of Wednesday night’s SEC-ACC Challenge game at the O-Dome, the Virginia Cavaliers seemed to have 13th-ranked Florida’s number. The Cavaliers hit four 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game as they built an 18-9 lead.

This had the makings of a bare knuckles brawl. Virginia was spacing the floor and controlling the tempo of the game, making the Gators chase the ball around the perimeter where four of six 3-pointers found the bottom of the net. Down at the other end of the floor, Virginia was playing defense with a no autopsy, no foul mentality supported by a zebra crew more than willing to swallow its whistles even on hard contact.

Enter the Florida bench, shortened to three on this night by head coach Todd Golden. An off balance jumper by Denzell Aberdeen and a 3-point play the old fashioned way by Thomas Haugh trimmed five points off the Virginia lead, then after an exchange of baskets came a sequence of pure hustle by Sam Alexis that truly ignited the Gators.

It started with Alexis fighting two Virginia players for a rebound after a Will Richard miss. When Alexis found himself hemmed in, he found Richard open in the corner. Another miss by Richard, another rebound by Alexis only this time instead of looking for someone on the perimeter, he went up strong, again between two defenders, to put the ball back in. Florida trailed 20-18 at that point, but momentum had clearly shifted to the Gators.

Once the Gators wrestled the tempo from Virginia and adjusted to the Cavaliers’ style of physicality, the outcome was never again in doubt. After Virginia took the lead at 18-9 it was all Florida. The Gators outscored the Cavaliers 78-51 the rest of the way, cruising to an 87-69 win that kept 13th-ranked Florida (9-0) unbeaten.  

It was a 15-0 run in the first half that was decisive. Led by the efforts of Aberdeen, Alexis and Haugh, the Gators went from 20-14 down to ahead 29-20. Virginia was able to rally before the half to close the gap to 39-35, but once the second half began the Gators once again went on one of their runs. A 21-7 run straight out of the second half gate propelled the Gators to a 60-45 lead.

"One of the really good qualities of our team is our spurtability, you know, our ability to go on big runs,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “And, you know, in the Wichita game, I think we went on a 27-0 run. Tonight, I think it was 15-0 in the first half. I think we've had a double-digit run in pretty much every one of our games so far to this point. I think it speaks to the depth of our team. I think it speaks to the efficiency of the way we play offense and the way we've been better on the defensive end.”

When the Gators are going well offensively, it seems it is the defense that kick-starts things. The Gators got off to a poor start on the defensive end when they fell behind by nine, but the 15-0 run had its origins defensively and on the backboards as did the opening salvo of the second half.

Among Virginia’s 15 turnovers were four shot clock violations. The Cavaliers rushed several shots that were wild responses to the shot clock. The Gators scored 20 points off Virginia turnovers.

“They’re a pretty stout half-court defense, you know, and so you got to find ways to create offensive opportunities,” Golden said. “Looking at their their two losses before they played us tonight, both those teams turned them over quite a bit, so that was an area that we felt like we would have to have some success to be able to open the floor for us a little bit and be able to get easier baskets, which we were able to do. And, pressure on the defensive end was something that we emphasized quite a bit over the last two days.

“We didn't guard the 3-point line well enough early and I thought that definitely bothered me. I thought it kept us at bay, but once we were able to take the 3-point line away and pressure them and make them play late in the clock, we were able to get some turnovers that way, which resulted in some run outs and allowed us to get some momentum.”

When the Gators made their 21-7 run to start the second half, Walter Clayton Jr. scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the first eight minutes. Alex Condon scored seven of his 19, hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key, his fourth straight 3-point make dating back to the win over Wichita State.

Clayton hit 5-12 from the 3-point line, grabbed three rebounds, dished out four assists and came up with two steals. A year ago when the Gators lost to Virginia, Clayton struggled, scoring only 11 points while turning the ball over five times. This year he had only one turnover and obviously, he shot the ball well.

“There's been a lot of conversation about him playing the point guard position,” Golden said. “... it's one of the best defensive teams in America, you look down and he has 27 points, four assists and one turnover in 34 minutes. And to be honest, the turnover is pretty fluky, you know? It wasn't a bad decision. It was just kind of somebody to get his hands in on the ball in a transition play, but, but he's a fantastic player and when he plays at a high level like that offensively, it just, it makes us pretty dang good. But he, he definitely did exorcise some demons. I thought he did a great job handling the way they guard ball screens with their hard show. He just ran around it. Made some really good decisions on when to drive or when to pass to the big and, you know, transparently, just playing at a really high level right now."

In addition to Clayton’s 27, Condon had 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and two steals. Martin had 16 points, five rebounds and a steal.

The threesome of Aberdeen, Alexis and Haugh was extremely productive, combining for 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists, a blocked shot and two steals.

It was one of Florida’s most efficient games offensively all season. The Gators shot 51.7 percent from the field (31-60) including a sizzling 64 percent (16-25) in the second half. From the 3-point line the Gators were 10-25.

The Gators will take a break for exams and won’t return to action until December 14 when they face Arizona State in Atlanta.

Game notes: Clayton hit a 3-pointer in his 32nd consecutive game, the fifth longest streak in UF history. He’s seven games away from tying Michael Frazier II for the top spot in school history ... Florida’s 9-0 start is the third best in school history. The Gators began 17-0 in the national championship season of 2006 and 10-0 in the 1951-52 season ... All nine of Florida’s wins are by at least 13 points. The Gators average winning margin is 21.7 points.

SEC-ACC CHALLENGE

SEC 14, ACC 2

Wednesday’s scores (SEC teams bold face)

No. 13 FLORIDA (9-0) 87, Virginia (5-3) 69

No. 9 Duke (6-2) 84, No. 2 Auburn (7-1) 78

No. 10 Alabama (7-2) 94, No. 20 North Carolina (4-4) 79

Mississippi State (7-1) 90, No. 18 Pittsburgh (7-2) 57

Texas (7-1) 63, North Carolina State (5-3) 59

Vanderbilt (8-1) 80, Virginia Tech (3-5) 64