WATCH: Walter Clayton Jr. & Alijah Martin UConn postgame interviews
RALEIGH, N.C. — Florida’s trio of senior guards — Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard — all came up big in the Gators’ 77-75 win over UConn on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Clayton scored 13 of his game-high 23 points during the final nine minutes, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers with under three minutes left.
“I saw that look in his eye,” Martin said of Clayton. “I saw a first-team (All-American), all the accolades he’s got. He deserves it all, man. That guy is special. He stepped up when we needed him to.”
RELATED: Walter Clayton’s late-game heroics lift Florida Gators to Sweet 16
Martin scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, shooting 6-for-9 and 2-for-3 from downtown, and made two late offensive rebounds off missed free throws.
“I think he showed experience,” Clayton said of Martin. “Obviously he has been here before. Man, that’s just Alijah. We see Alijah every day. We done seen him in multiple games this year, even at home, in the Georgia game when he came out. He’s had multiple moments like that all year, and he just did that again today.”
Richard scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and made a critical steal at the 3:41 mark after a UF turnover with UConn up by three points.
“It means a lot,” Richard said of the win. “This is why everybody came here. We wanted to bring Florida back to that national stage and that relevance. For us, it means a lot, just playing for that logo and for the guys that came before us to help us get here.”
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Below are postgame interviews with Clayton and Martin.
Walter Clayton Jr. postgame interview
Alijah Martin postgame interview
More milestones for Clayton
Clayton extended his streak to 58 straight appearances with a 3-pointer. He has averaged 26.3 points in three NCAA Tournament games as a Gator.
In his five postseason games this season spanning the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, Clayton has shot 22-for-43 (.512) from 3-point range.
Clayton (1,258) and Richard (1,229) now rank No. 1 and No. 2 in career scoring among Florida transfers, with Richard passing Dorian Finney-Smith (1,220) on Sunday.
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