No. 20 Gators pound FSU on glass, cruise to 87-74 win
Dominated on the glass and unable to take advantage of numerous opportunities in transition, the Florida State men’s basketball team fell at home Friday night to the No. 20 Florida Gators, 87-74.
UF out-rebounded the Seminoles 47-29 and rode impressive offensive performances from senior guards Walter Clayton Jr. (25 points) and Alijah Martin (17 points) to improve to 4-0 and win its fourth straight game against the ‘Noles. FSU falls to 3-1.
Florida State trailed by 13 points at halftime and by double-digits for much of the second half, but the Seminoles went on a quick 6-0 run to cut UF’s lead to 77-73 with 2:21 left.
Gators coach Todd Golden then called a timeout, and his team came out and scored 10 straight points — including back-to-back 3-pointers from Martin and Clayton — to secure the win. Martin’s 3-pointer banked in as the shot clock expired.
“You’ve got to give Florida credit, because I think that they showed they’re a little bit farther along than we are,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.
Florida State was led by senior guard Jamir Watkins’ 19 points and 10 apiece from center Malique Ewin and freshman point guard Daquan Davis.
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The Seminoles’ aggressive defense forced Florida into 19 turnovers, but they failed to capitalize on many of them, scoring only eight baskets on those opportunities. FSU finished 11-for-21 on layups.
The Seminoles’ biggest problem, however, was keeping the Gators off the glass.
Led by center Alex Condon with 12, UF had six different players with at least five rebounds. Watkins and Taylor Bol Bowen led Florida State with seven rebounds apiece, but no other Seminole had more than four.
“They were unbelievable on the boards,” Hamilton said of the Gators. “That’s an area that we can get better at. I think we’re athletic enough. I think we’re strong enough to make that adjustment. We can rebound a lot better.”
Florida led 44-31 at the half behind 14 early points by Clayton.
Next up for Florida State is a home game Tuesday against visiting Hofstra.
Box Score: UF 87, FSU 74
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