LAKELAND, Fla. – A lot had gone wrong in the second half. More accurately, very little went right for the Florida Gators after intermission, as they let a nine-point lead over East Carolina fritter away, while missing field goals, clanging free throws and turning the ball over in careless and uncharacteristic fashion.
And that's why UF coach Todd Golden was so impressed with how his team finished off a 70-65 victory before a neutral-court crowd of about 3,100 at the RP Funding Center.
"There's an old saying: A win is a win," Golden said. "It's hard to be good and, obviously, we didn't have our best tonight."
That included a 2-for-10 shooting finish from the floor over the final nearly seven minutes, but the Gators (7-3) also forced the Pirates (6-5) into six misses on their last seven shots over the final three minutes after ECU had cut that UF lead to just one, 62-61, with 3:31 to play.
"Our discipline took over down the stretch and we executed what the coach wanted," grad-transfer forward Tyrese Samuel said. "We were poised."
After a late-clock timeout, Golden called a play that got a clean-look 3-ball try for guard Walter Clayton Jr. The shot was off, but Samuel skied for the rebound, head-faked once and elevated for a two-handed slam-dunk and two-possession lead with just 20 seconds to go.
East Carolina misfired on a 3 at its end, with Florida freshman Alex Condon grabbing the board and hitting one of two free throws with 12.6 seconds left to account for the final five-point margin and send a sigh of relief along the UF sideline.
"I thought in the last four minutes of the game we did a really good job of gathering ourselves and executing. We ran good offense, got good shots, got on the glass, did a good job defending and found a way to win the game," Golden said. "As our program continues to mature, these are the types of wins that build character, build trust and build belief. I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to win."
Clayton, the Lake Wales (Fla.) product who won a pair of Class 6A state titles for Bartow High in the same building, led the way with a game-high 22 points in his much-anticipated homecoming. He had 20 in the first half, including 10 in the first four minutes of the game. He also had four rebounds and five turnovers.
Oh, and his girlfriend had a baby Monday, making this game – along with dozens of hometown family and friends in the house – a rather interesting last few days for the Iona transfer.
"I definitely felt like a dad out there," said Clayton, who after the game was headed home to see his three-day-old baby girl, Leilani, while his teammates were busing back to Gainesville. "My back hurt a little bit from sleeping on that hospital couch they had for me [all week], but it's been good. Everything went well. Healthy baby, my [girlfriend] is healthy, so everything is good."
Plus, the win. That was good, too. Samuel had 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and three turnovers. Grad-transfer reserve point guard Zyon Pullin came off the bench to tally 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Condon had eight points and 12 rebounds off the bench for his second double-figure rebounding effort in the last three games. Richard, the junior wing, had 10 points and seven boards. The Gators blasted the Pirates on the glass, 51-32, including a 21-10 bulge on the offensive end.
They needed every one of them, as it turned out.
Yet, still won.
"Defensively, down the stretch, we showed a lot of toughness," Condon said. "It's all about attitude."
The Gators had enough of it to close out a game that very easily could have ended with a different outcome had that attitude been misplaced.
"It got tight, but our guys didn't panic, didn't fold, didn't point fingers and weren't looking to play hero ball," Golden said. "We stayed the course a little bit. The defensive end was what kept us in the lead."
And secured a third straight win.
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