Florida vs. Texas score, takeaways: Alex Condon, Boogie Fland star as No. 7 Gators pull away late

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

It was hardly the most rousing victory the No. 7 Florida Gators have achieved this season, but with their two best players mired in rough performances, the team hunkered down and took care of business in the closing minutes to exit Austin, Texas, with another victory. Florida ousted the Texas Longhorns, 84-71, winning its seventh straight game on the road in SEC play, the second-longest such streak in program history.

A back-and-forth affair, the Gators stood strong defensively, holding the Longhorns without a basket for the final 7:27. Florida pieced together a 23-7 scoring margin over Texas across the last 7:14, turning a deficit into a double-digit lead, and ultimately, an unquestionable victory.

Let’s take a look at what went down as UF prevailed for the eighth straight game and 13th time in its last 14 contests with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … the Gators answered two Longhorns free throws with a 7-0 run, including a 3-pointer from senior guard Xaivian Lee and fastbreak dunk from sophomore G Isaiah Brown, to pull ahead by a game-high 15 points with 2:33 to play.

Junior forward Alex Condon made a point-blank triple out of the break to retie the game as the teams continued jockeying for position out of halftime. Lee and junior G Urban Klavžar drained consecutive triples to push Florida ahead by six points midway through the second half, but Texas immediately answered with a 9-0 stretch to pull ahead by three. The Gators responded with gusto, dominating on both ends of the court for a 14-1 run despite two of their frontcourt starters finding the bench with four fouls each.

First half focus: Texas took an early eight-point lead, putting Florida in its largest hole since a home loss to Auburn on Jan. 24. A 9-2 scoring stretch helped the Gators knot the contest with 5 minutes until the break, and after the Longhorns immediately answered with a 5-0 run, sophomore guard Boogie Fland tied the game again with 80 seconds remaining, draining a transition 3-pointer from the corner. However, Texas scored the final three points of the period as Florida found itself tied or trailing at the break for the seventh time this campaign (2-5).

Exceptional efforts: Condon nearly put together a perfect game, but on a night in which running mate junior F Thomas Haugh put forward his worst performance of the season, near-perfect was more than good enough. The Aussie scored a game-high 23 points on 10 of 11 shooting, making his lone 3-point attempt while filling out the box score with four rebounds, three assists and four blocks. Just as importantly, Condon did not commit a turnover despite his recent ball-security issues. After playing below expectations for the better part of a calendar year, he has registered 20+ points in three straight games, shooting 50% or better in each contest.

Fland was equally impressive, finding success on both ends of the court as his defense continues to drive improved offensive production. He scored a season-high 22 points (10 over the last 5:01) on 7 of 10 shooting, making 2 of 3 triples and all six of his free throws, adding five rebounds and two steals for good measure.

Condon and Fland are the first Florida duo to score 20+ points on 70% shooing in 14 years (Bradley Beal, Erving Walker on Feb. 18, 2012).

Lee committed three turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game but was flawless in handling the ball over the duration. He made 2 of 3 treys for 12 points with a game-high six assists and three boards. Brown carried his own weight, too, matching a career-high with eight rebounds while posting 9 points and 2 dimes in 21 minutes, his second-longest run of the season.

Missing in action: Haugh and junior center Rueben Chinyelu were both in foul trouble, the former getting knocked out of the game, but neither played up to their normal level when actually on the court. Florida’s frontcourt standouts had identical lines, each scoring 5 points on 2 of 6 shooting in 24 minutes. However, Haugh missed all four of his 3-point attempts while committing two turnovers without a rebound or assist. He also turned his ankle in the second half but was able to return.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 5-4 all-time against Texas, including 2-2 on the road and 2-0 under head coach Todd Golden … the Gators improved to 3-5 when tied or trailing at halftime and 3-4 when only three players score in double figures, winning for the first time when being outrebounded this season (1-2) … Florida is now 22-1 when leading with 5 minutes left, 17-1 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 20-0 when outshooting an opponent, 3-0 when shooting 40% or better from 3-point range, 11-1 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range, 16-2 when attempting more free throws, 8-3 when shooting 75% or better from the line and 15-2 when winning the bench scoring battle

What it means: The Gators appeared to be dead on the range on Wednesday night. And yet, as has been the case the last two seasons, they simply found a way to win. This time, it was defense that fueled Florida as a season-high 11 blocks (10 in the second half alone!) not only prevented Texas from making a single field goal over the last 7:27 but also created extra possessions and kick-started the offense, leading to the game-ending scoring stretch.

UF’s 3-point shooting continues to improve, too. The Gators hit 44.4% from downtown on Wednesday, their second-best mark of the season on the back of a 50% performance in their last game. Four of Florida’s nine best 3-point shooting performances have come in the last five contests.

Florida shockingly got outrebounded 29-30 — primarily on the back of Texas going 7+ from the offensive glass with UF’s bigs out of the game — but the visitors still won the paint scoring battle, 38-30, dominated fastbreak scoring, 16-8, and registered 14 assists compared to only two for the hosts.

What’s next? Florida returns home to face the most difficult opponent remaining on its regular-season schedule as No. 20 Arkansas comes to town. The game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET and air live nationally on ESPN.