Next men up! Shorthanded Gators steamroll Vanderbilt, 86-75

Denzel Aberdeen (11) scored 13 with zero turnovers (UAA Photo)

It was Will Richard that got Florida’s offense going in the second half. A 3-pointer, a dunk finish after he put the ball on the deck and another three with 13:41 left in the game that gave the Gators a 49-48 lead over Vanderbilt. When Richard goes into a shooter’s coma just about anything he heaves at the basket tends to go in, which tends to send O-Dome crowds into a frenzy and distributes some very positive vibes throughout his teammates.

Tuesday night at the O-Dome, when Richard got blowtorch hot, it carried over to a couple of unexpected sources. First, Sam Alexis rained down a 3-from the left side of the key that gave the 6th-ranked Gators (19-3, 6-3 SEC) the lead for good at 52-50 with 11:54 left in the game. Richard followed with his third 3-ball of the half 38 seconds later. Alexis got a layup and drew a foul with 10:16 to go.

It was 57-54 when freshman Urban Klavzar got into the act. He hit a 3-pointer with 8:47 left with Alexis picking up the assist. After a Vandy miss and a Thomas Haugh rebound, Klavzar drilled a second straight three with 8:13 to go.

Just like that, the Gators were up nine, 63-54. For good measure, Alexis blocked a shot down at the other end. The Gators never looked back, taking a very comfortable 86-75 win over the Commodores on an all hands on deck night to make up for the absence of leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr., who sprained an ankle in last Saturday’s loss to Tennessee. It wasn’t until the shootaround before the Gators went through their normal pre-game drills that the decision was made for Clayton to sit this one out.

“We didn't really know until probably, you know, 90 minutes before game time, whatever it was,” Golden said. “He tested it out this morning, and again at shootaround, and honestly, looked pretty good, but you could just tell he wasn't all the way confident and comfortable with it … It was a calculated decision that we had to make as a program. Obviously, we would always prefer to have him out there, you know, but we have a lot of season left, and the great thing is, you know, we feel like, with where our program’s at, that we can absorb a game like this where we don't have him, and I don't think we would have said that last year. I don't think we definitely couldn’t have said that in year one.

“So to be in a position where, you know, as a staff, we can say, all right, we're obviously going to lose a lot by not having him, but these other guys, you know, we think they can step up and still be enough to help us win the game.”

With Clayton in civvies on the bench, it was Denzel Aberdeen’s job to run the team. Aberdeen was a steady hand at the controls, finishing with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. His big number, however, was zero, as in zero turnovers in 35 minutes of playing time.

It was the zero turnovers that impressed Golden the most.

“I thought Denzel was fantastic, 35 minutes tonight, no turnovers, did an incredible job controlling the game,” Golden said. 

Richard has had big games during his three years in a UF uniform, but never was he needed quite like Tuesday against Vandy. Clayton was out and second leading scorer Alijah Martin, had to sit part of the first half with an injured hip. So, after a rather modest first half (5 points) Richard took it upon himself to shoulder the responsibility of carrying the scoring load.

Richard hit all four of his second half 3-pointers, finished with 21 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists. For the game he was 8-11 overall and 5-7 from the 3-point line. Like Aberdeen, didn’t turn the ball over. It was sweet redemption for Richard who squeezed off only two shots and scored just two points in Florida’s dismal, 20-point hosing at the hands of Tennessee last Saturday.

“For him to come back and have a game like this on a night where we needed him the most was absolutely huge for us,” Golden said. 

Alex Condon, who also struggled at Tennessee, came back with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. He also didn’t turn the ball over.

Tommy Haugh had eight points, nine rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Alijah Martin, who had to leave the game with an injured hip in the first half, scored eight in the second half when he also had four assists. Klavzar had six, Alexis five and freshman Isaiah Brown, in his most extended role this season (7 minutes) had two points and two rebounds.

Not a bad game for a team missing its leader.

“Honestly, I'm as proud of this win as I am of any of the others this season due to circumstances,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “Vanderbilt's very good team. They're really, really hard to guard, and we stepped up and had a really nice second half."

The Gators weren’t terrible in the first half, but it was quite obvious they missed Clayton. They turned the ball over eight times, which Vanderbilt converted into 11 points. The Gators left points on the foul line, hitting just 6-11. They went into the halftime locker trailing by one, 36-35, but they should have led by at least 10. In some respects they were fortunate the deficit was only that single point.

In the second half, Florida scored 51 points while connecting on 18-28 shots from the field including 7-11 from the 3-point line.  The Gators looked very much like a top ten team in the second half. The lack of consistency and continuity in the first half made it seem like there was some hangover from the loss to Tennessee.  

In the final 20 minutes, Aberdeen looked far more comfortable running the team, which has a lot to do with the way the Gators began moving the ball and hitting just about anything they threw up at the rack.

 “I thought he handled it fantastic,” Golden said. “You know, no turnovers again, controlled the game. (Tyler) Tanner is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country, and he didn't allow him to force any turnovers on him. And again, he just commanded the game in the second half … We had him start, and a lot of the high-ball screen action, they were putting two on the ball, and he's strong with it, and he did everything we asked him to do and more tonight.”

Golden on Klavjar’s breakout game

"We talked to him before the game, and just made sure he understood he's going to be in the rotation. I feel like I'm a pretty good coach to play for when you're a shooter. I told him if you don't shoot when you're open, you're going to come out of the game. I thought he passed up one in the first half in front of the bench, he drove the baseline, took a tough floater. I was like, dude, you got to shoot that three. You were open. You’re one of the best shooters I've seen, let it fly. He did in the second half, and once he made that first three, I was pretty confident the second was going to go in. You could tell he felt it a little bit, got a little confidence and just let it rip – and nothing but net on both of them. Those were huge, huge shots for us. And I'm very proud of him."

"... I'm happy for him, as he has exhibited great patience and has been a great teammate all year. You can see how great of a teammate he's been by the reaction of his teammates when he made those shots. They were sprinting out to half court to show him some love."

SEC BASKETBALL

Tuesday’s scores

No. 6 FLORIDA (19-3, 6-3 SEC) 86, Vanderbilt (16-6, 4-5 SEC) 74

No. 1 Auburn (21-1, 9-0 SEC) 98, Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6 SEC) 70

No. 25 Ole Miss (17-6, 6-4 SEC) 98, No. 14 Kentucky (15-7, 4-5 SEC) 84

Today’s games

No. 15 Missouri (17-4, 6-2 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC)

Arkansas (13-8, 2-6 SEC) at Texas (15-7, 4-5 SEC)

LSU (12-9, 1-7 SEC) at Georgia (15-7, 3-6 SEC)

Saturday’s games

No. 5 FLORIDA (19-3, 6-3 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (21-1, 9-0 SEC)

No. 3 Alabama (19-3, 8-1 SEC) at Arkansas (13-8, 2-6 SEC)

No. 4 Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) at Oklahoma (16-6, 3-6 SEC)

South Carolina (10-12, 0-9 SEC) at No. 14 Kentucky (15-7, 4-5 SEC)

No. 10 Texas A&M (17-5, 6-3 SEC) at No. 15 Missouri (17-4, 6-2 SEC)

No. 22 Mississippi State (16-6, 4-5 SEC) at Georgia (15-7, 3-6 SEC)

No. 25 Ole Miss (17-6, 5-4 SEC) at LSU (12-9, 1-7 SEC)

Texas (15-7, 4-5 SEC) at Vanderbilt (16-6, 4-6 SEC)