Florida vs. South Florida score, takeaways: No. 21 Gators dominate late; Walter Clayton, Will Richard star

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

No. 21 Florida Gators basketball put its foot firmly on the gas in the second half on its way to a thorough 98-83 win over the South Florida Bulls on Monday night at the 2024 Jacksonville Sports Foundation Invitational in Jacksonville, Florida. The Gators won their sixth straight season opener — third straight under head coach Todd Golden — in decisive fashion with two games upcoming against local competition before their first power-conference opponent comes in 11 days.

While USF put up a fight in its first game since losing head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, 43, to surgical complications just a couple weeks ago, UF was able to pull away in the second half relying on its star players to pull off the victory. Abdur-Rahim was honored by both teams before the game with Florida donning warm-up T-shirts bearing his name.

Let’s take a look at what went down Monday night.

It was over when … the Gators broke free of a way-too-tight start to the second half with an explosive 17-2 run to jump ahead by 14 points with 6:47 to play. They increased that lead to 15 points with 5:19 to go but allowed the Bulls to get the game back to single digits at one point before surging ahead by a game-high 18 points in the waining seconds.

Florida turned the game by taking fewer shots from beyond the arc, instead concentrating on paint scoring and getting to the free-throw line. UF shots 29 of its 33 free throws in the second half (hitting 81.8% for the contest) and took 21 of 29 shots from inside the arc compared to 17 of 34 in the opening period.

First half focus: South Florida dominated the middle of the period with a 16-2 run to jump ahead 10 points and actually increased that advantage by another three with 6:13 until the break. However, Florida responded in kind with a 15-4 scoring stretch to close the period trailing only by one. The Gators struggled as they were inefficient from long range shooting half those 34 attempts over the first 20 minutes from downtown (3 of 17).

Exceptional efforts: Seniors Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard dueled all game to determine who would serve as the in-game MVP for Florida. In the end, they share the moniker combining for 54 points (56% of the team’s total) on 20 of 32 shooting in nearly identical scoring efforts. Clayton hit 10 of 15 shots and all seven of his free throws for 29 points, while Richard hit 10 of 16 shots and all three of his gimmies for 25 points. Each made two triples and grabbed four rebounds in the contest while becoming the first teammates to score 25+ points in the same game since 2019.

In his first game with UF, redshirt senior G Alijah Martin, a transfer from FAU, was the third-leading scorer with 13 points, but he missed all six of his triples hitting 7 of 10 free throws while grabbing 6 boards with 3 assists. Sophomore center Alex Condon played with relentless effort throughout the game — at one point earning a half-dozen hand slaps from Golden after diving for a loose ball — and remained efficient with a matching 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting along with 5 rebounds. This despite getting in foul trouble early and only playing 22 minutes.

Odds & ends: The Gators opened the season ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019 … Florida improved to 20-5 all-time against South Florida with five straight wins and a 5-1 mark in neutral sites … the Gators played in Jacksonville for the first time in eight years … UF dominated the interior with a 50-26 scoring edge and more reasonable 37-32 advantage on the boards … Florida scored 24 points off eight turnovers but only had 13 fastbreak points … the Gators went just 5 of 25 from downtown … there were 13 lead changes in the game, and Florida actually led for less time than USF (16:44-19:28)

UF is now 9-17 under Golden when trailing at halftime, 38-5 when leading with 5 minutes left, 28-7 when outrebounding an opponent, 28-6 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 11-21 when being outshot by an opponent from 3-point range, 25-12 when taking more free throws and 19-12 when shooting better than 75% from the line

What it means: Not much. Florida ultimately did what it was supposed to do against a South Florida team that could not match up personnel wise. USF showed some fighting spirit early but was unable to overcome UF once it hunkered down and focused on taking high-quality shots. This game was similar to many the Gators have played under Golden where they fall in love with the long ball early and fall behind at the half only to play far more efficient basketball over the final 20 minutes. The difference in team energy and production was apparent throughout the latter period as getting the ball inside and attacking the rim completely changed the tone of the game, and ultimately, the final score.

What’s next? No rest for the weary as the Gators will be back at it Thursday. Despite opening the season in Jacksonville, it will be Florida hosting Jacksonville at 8 p.m. ET in a game that will air live, exclusively, streaming on SEC Network+.

Ladies’ night: Florida women’s basketball also opened its season Monday night pulling off a dominant 82-54 win over the FAU Owls. Five-star freshman G Liv McGill, the highest-ranked signee in program history began her career with a complete effort scoring 14 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds in 26 minutes. Senior center Ra Shaya Kyle pulled the Gators ahead with a dominant first half before finishing with 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting with 6 boards and 3 dimes. Senior G Jeriah Warren was stellar in the second half finishing with a game-high 21 points on 4 of 7 shooting from downtown. Florida led for the final 37:48 with assists on 19 of 28 baskets and 23 points off 15 FAU turnovers.