Gators commit costly turnovers in upset loss at Vanderbilt
Florida finished the regular season on a disappointing note Saturday, getting upset by a Vanderbilt team that came into the game 8-22 overall and 3-14 in conference. The Gators committed 16 turnovers, their second most in SEC play, including two in the final 30 seconds.
With the game tied, Walter Clayton Jr.’s and-one play gave UF a 76-73 lead with 1:11 left. But after the Commodores cut the deficit to one, a poor inbounds pass by Clayton was picked off by Tyrin Lawrence, who scored the go-ahead layup with 15 seconds remaining.
After a Todd Golden timeout, Clayton lost control of the ball off the inbounds play and then turned it over as Florida fell, 79-78, in their rematch with the ’Dores.
“I thought Vanderbilt was the tougher team today. Pretty clear,” Golden said in his postgame radio interview. “We were super soft on the glass and super soft with the ball. Sixteen turnovers to their eight. That’s the story right there. If we did just a slightly better job, we win that game by double figures.”
Florida lost the rebounding battle against the Commodores for the second time this season (41-35). They outrebounded UF on the offensive glass a whopping 20-6.
“We’re one of the best offensive rebounding teams in America,” Golden said. “We were not that today.”
Golden was also upset with the field goal discrepancy. Florida shot better than the ’Dores from the floor, 52% to 36%, but they attempted 76 shots against 58 for UF.
“They did a great job getting field goals up. … Because of those numbers, we weren’t able to become victorious,” Golden said. “They outperformed us in all the areas that don’t require talent.”
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The Gators saw their 7-point halftime edge erased five minutes into the second period, and it was back-and-forth the rest of the way in a game that had 12 lead changes and 12 ties.
Zyon Pullin scored a team-high 20 points, matched his season high with eight assists and grabbed five rebounds. It marked the sixth 20-point game for Pullin this year.
Tyrese Samuel (16 points), Clayton (14) and Alex Condon (11) also scored in double figures. Vandy’s Ven-Allen Lubin had a season-high 25 points and Lawrence added 17.
Florida built a 12-point lead before the break with an 11-2 run and led 39-32 at intermission. UF held the ’Dores to 26.5% from the floor in the first half, but they shot 42.9% in the second period.
Up next for the Gators (21-10, 11-7 SEC) is the SEC Tournament in Nashville. They are the No. 6 seed and will play Georgia or Missouri on Thursday at approx. 9:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
