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Gators outlast ECU behind Clayton's hot start, Samuel's strong finish

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•12/14/23•

ZachAbolverdi

Walter-Clayton-Florida-Gators
Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (UAA Photo)

Powered by Walter Clayton Jr.’s strong start and Florida’s dominance on the glass, the Gators squeaked out a 70-65 victory over East Carolina on Thursday in Lakeland, Fla. It marked their third consecutive victory in a game where they never trailed but were clinging to a one-possession lead late.

With UF up by two points in the final minute, Clayton missed a wide-open look from 3 out of a timeout, but senior forward Tyrese Samuel grabbed a huge offensive rebound and slammed it home for the game-sealing putback dunk.

Florida turned the ball over 18 times, the second most this season, and those turnovers helped the Pirates hang around until the end.

“I thought we played pretty well in the first half offensively. And then in the second half, I thought we tightened up a little bit and just had some bad turnovers, which made it obviously really difficult to score,” UF coach Todd Golden said in his postgame radio interview.

“But I was pleased with the last four minutes. I thought we executed really, really well. Got good shots and then got on the glass and defended and found a way to win.”

The Gators finished with 51 rebounds, a plus-19 edge on the boards and four players in double figures, led by Clayton and Samuel. The junior guard scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half and Samuel posted 11 points (9 in the second half) and seven rebounds.

“He got us off to a great start,” Golden said of Clayton. “Obviously was finding his way both from the 3-point line and around the rim. He gave us that 10-point lead early. In the second half, things calmed down a little bit and he wasn’t as productive, but I thought he gave us really, really good minutes tonight.”

All 11 points from senior guard Zyon Pullin came in the second period, including seven of Florida’s last 11 points, and he led the team in assists (4) for the fifth time, while sophomore guard Will Richard added 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers.

Clayton had a trio of treys as well, but he and Richard were the only UF players to connect from downtown as Florida made a season-low five 3-pointers in 20 shot attempts.

Freshman center Alex Condon led the team with 12 rebounds, scored 8 points and had one of the plays of the game with his block at the rim to stop a fast-break play by ECU.

UF led by as many as 11 in the first half and was up 37-30 at the break, but the Pirates cut the deficit to 3 points or less on 12 different possessions in the game’s final 15 minutes.

A 7-0 run by the Gators gave them a 55-46 lead midway through the second half. ECU battled back, however, down by one with 3:32 left and trailing twice by two points in the final 90 seconds.

The Pirates also had four players score in double figures, led by sophomore forward Ezra Ausar and junior guard RJ Felton with 14 points apiece, but shot 39.7 percent from the floor (25-for-63).

“We guarded really well,” Golden said. “A big part of this win was keeping them off the offensive glass as a top-40 offensive rebounding team. We limited their 3-point attempts (7-for-22), which was key, and we limited their second chances. Only gave up 10 offensive rebounds, won the boards by 19 again, and that’s been the calling card for this group.”

Florida improves to 7-3 and faces Michigan (5-5) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Jumpman Invitational. The game will be televised on ESPN.

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