Florida State men fall at UF, 89-68; Latson leads FSU women past Gators

Cam Corhen scored 18 points and Jamir Watkins added 15, but the Florida State men’s basketball team fell into a huge hole Friday night in Gainesville, and the Seminoles could never dig their way out.

Trailing by double-digits from the early going and by 30 points at halftime, Florida State fell to 2-1 on the season with an 89-68 loss to the rival Florida Gators.

Walter Clayton Jr. led UF with 19 points, while graduate transfer Zyon Pullin added 15. The Gators, who improved to 3-1, also got 15 points from Tyrese Samuel and 10 from Riley Kugel. Thomas Haugh grabbed 10 rebounds for the Gators.

Florida led 52-22 at halftime, shooting 64.3% (18 for 28), including 6 for 12 from 3-point range. The only shooting blemish occurred at the foul line where they went 10 of 17 (58.8%) at the stripe. Overall, Florida finished 30-for-58 (51.7%) shooting.

The Seminoles shot 8 for 30 (26.7%), including 1 for 9 (11.1%) from 3 and 5 for 11 (45.5%) from the foul line in the first half. Florida State finished 24-for-65 shooting overall.

Florida now leads the all-time series 46-29, including wins in each of the last two seasons after FSU reeled off a run of seven straight victories that marked the longest victory streak by either program in a series that dates to 1951.

The Florida State men will return to action Monday in Daytona Beach against UNLV. The neutral-site game is set for 5:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Latson scores 36, leads Florida State women past UF

Release from FSU Sports Information

Sophomore guard Ta’Niya Latson poured in 17 of her career-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead No. 12 Florida State Women’s Basketball to a 79-75 rivalry win at Florida on Friday night at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Latson nearly out-scored the Gators (3-1) in the fourth quarter by herself, going 5-of-5 from the floor in the final period, 7-of-7 from the charity stripe and helping the Seminoles (3-0) out-score UF 30-19. Latson’s clutch play turned around a 56-49 deficit entering the fourth.

Latson’s 35 points are the most by a Seminole since Morgan Jones had 36 in a double-overtime win over Clemson on Jan. 21, 2021. Latson eclipsed her previous career high of 34 points scored at Kent State last year in just her second career game played.

A 3-point field goal by Florida with 8:47 left put the Gators ahead 61-53, but FSU refused to quit. A clutch 3-point field goal from the corner by O’Mariah Gordon tied the game at 70-70 with 2:14 remaining. Latson then provided the go-ahead bucket for good on a fast-break left-handed layup, putting the Seminoles ahead 72-70 with 1:51 remaining.

Florida State’s defense delivered crucial stops down the stretch of the game. Following Latson’s big bucket, Makayla Timpson delivered her third block, followed by another steal by Gordon on UF’s next possession to give FSU two enormous defensive stops.

Clinging to a 72-71 lead with 44 seconds remaining, Latson hit another big jumper to give FSU a bit more breathing room at 74-71. UF responded with a layup by Ra Shaya Kyle on an out-of-bounds play, but Latson came back with two more free throws after getting fouled to make it 76-73 with 15 seconds left. She sealed the game with six seconds remaining on two more free throws.

Latson finished 11-of-20 from the floor and 12-of-12 from the line. It marks the third time in her career she has shot 100 percent from the line on 12 or more attempts.

Timpson racked up her 14^th career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Gordon added 10 points while Sara Bejedi also had 10 points along with three assists.

FSU took advantage at the line by shooting 20-of-24, and committed just 10 turnovers to UF’s 16. The Gators were led by the scoring of Leilana Correa and Kyle with 16 points each.

FSU returns home for a Sunday matchup vs. South Alabama at 2 p.m. It will be FSU’s Seminole Heritage Game, with fans encouraged to wear turquoise to The Tuck.

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