There’s no love lost between the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs. Although former UF head coach Mike White set a program record with 21 wins in his first year coaching the Gators back in the 2015-16 season, he was still in search of his first victory against his former squad heading into Saturday’s matchup.
Sixty-four minutes into the game, junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. jacked up a 3-pointer hoping it would be the dagger that Florida fans never envisioned themselves needing to secure a victory. It missed.
But fellow junior guard Will Richard was at the right place at the right time. He soared in the air to grab a much-needed rebound before banking in a layup that put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs in overtime.
“A win is a win,” head coach Todd Golden said. "The great thing is we can learn from it positively and not have a tough weekend to think about a brutal loss.”
The Florida Gators men’s basketball team (14-6, 4-3 SEC) defeated the Georgia Bulldogs (14-6, 4-3 SEC) 102-98 in overtime at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Saturday.
For the majority of the game, the Gators had all of the control. However, the momentum was on Georgia’s side as they trailed 85-80 with 2:02 left in the game.
Florida went ice cold down the stretch going scoreless in the final 2:59 of regulation.
Blue Cain was clutch for the Bulldogs in crunch time. He banged home a 3-pointer to cut the lead to just two and followed it up with a game-tying scoop layup with 49 seconds left.
With the game knotted at 85 apiece, the ball landed in Richard’s hands in the Bulldogs’ half of the court with a chance to win the game. The junior guard weaved through multiple defenders and put up a desperation 3-pointer that hit the backboard and bounced off the rim as time expired.
“The biggest thing was just staying poised,” Pullin said. “The biggest thing was just to stay together and ya know start the overtime with a fast start.”
The highly anticipated overtime period was a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes. The Gators held a 92-89 lead heading into the media timeout at the 3:12 mark.
A timely mid-range bucket by Pullin hit nothing but net and gave UF a five-point lead.
The Gators complimented their timely baskets with perhaps their biggest defensive stop of the game while forcing a shot clock violation on the following possession.
Florida’s defense stifled Georgia in the closing minutes of overtime. UGA was held to just four points in the final 3:30 of play.
“I thought we did play well in overtime,” Golden said. “After the first turnover, we stayed aggressive, got out in transition couple of offensive rebounds.” “We dominated the boards that’s why we won the game.”
UF was rock solid at the free throw line to close out the game. Clayton Jr., Condon and Pullin combined to shoot 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to secure the victory.
“It’s something that we, at least the bigs, have really been working on,” Handlogten said. "Just being there as a group and putting trust in each other I think that really helps."
Florida wasted no time ramping up the pressure defensively in the first half. Richard recorded two steals in the first three-plus minutes of play after picking the pocket of RJ Sunahara and Noah Thomasson.
The Bulldogs went 0-for-4 from the field in the opening minutes. Georgia was unable to find much of a rhythm offensively, largely in part to the pesky hands of the Gators backcourt.
Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. claimed a steal of his own on the following defensive possession to tally back-to-back steals for Florida.
Four of the five UF starters flushed down dunks in front of a packed crowd early in the first half
After finishing with a season-high 23 points against Mississippi State Wednesday, Richard continued to have the hot hand as a baseline jumper found the bottom of the net. The Gators found themselves with a 10-5 lead at the 15:48 mark.
Richard’s strong first-half performance resulted in 14 points including an efficient 3-for-5 from long distance.
A 7-0 run capped off by a Clayton Jr. 3-pointer grew the UF lead to 15-5.
The Gators crashed the boards early and often throughout the first half of play. UF made its physical presence felt, outrebounded 14-8 with graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel and sophomore center Micah Handlogten setting the tone.
“I think we were able to use our physicality to our advantage,” Pullin said. "Going plus-21 on the glass, I think and we just dominated that aspect of the game.”
The center was a force in the opening twenty minutes coming up just shy of a double-double with eight rebounds and nine points.
Florida head coach Todd Golden got quality production from his big men on the bench. Freshman forward Alex Condon and fellow freshman Thomas Haugh provided back-to-back buckets as the Gators saw their lead grow as large as 13.
As the O’Dome was in a frenzy, Georgia refused to let the score get out of hand. A 12-2 run ignited by Georgia guard RJ Melendez kept their heads above water. The sharpshooter scored eight of the Bulldogs' 12 points throughout the run to cut the Florida lead to 26-21 with 7:20 left in the half.
The Gators kept their composure and responded with efficient offensive production. Richard and Handlogten paved the way for a 10-0 run that gave UF a 10-point lead.
The team finished shooting 59% from the field and 5-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half.
A buzzer-beating pull-up jumper from the right elbow gave graduate student guard Zyon Pullin his fourth point of the contest as the Gators held a 47-34 lead at halftime.
UF’s offensive production was a recurring theme as the second half began. They opened the first four-plus minutes 5-for-7 from the field en route to a 9-4 run.
Clayton Jr. was feeling it from deep Saturday. A deep-3 from the top of the key was his fourth bucket from long distance and grew the Florida lead to 54-37 at the 18:21 mark.
Though he’s hard to miss at 7-foot-1, Handlogten had his strongest performance of the season against the Bulldogs. The sophomore displayed his physicality in energetic fashion. He recorded a career-high 23 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.
The SEC foes traded blows midway through the second half despite Georgia facing a 21-point deficit with under 13 minutes left in the game.
Just when the game may have seemed to be out of reach, a 12-2 UGA run led by Melendez kept White’s hopes of beating his former team alive as the Gators saw their lead shrink to 70-59.
The Gators seemed to have no answer for Melendez. Following a transition layup, the Bulldogs turned up the pressure while switching to a full-court press.
Samuel was up for the task.
After Clayton Jr. dribbled through pressure, he missed his shot attempt. However, Samuel took flight to snatch the rebound under the hoop and quickly put the ball back up for an emphatic dunk to secure a 79-67 advantage with just under six minutes left to play.
This was the largest lead the Gators would see for the remainder of the contest as the atmosphere in the O’Dome began to feel a bit uneasy.
“I feel like we have a tendency to sometimes relax when we get a lead,” Richard said. “We gotta learn how to just keep going and just don’t stop.”
But despite Melendez’s efforts, it wasn't enough as the Gators survived in overtime to secure their third-straight SEC win.
Five players finished the game with double-digit scoring marks for Todd Golden’s bunch.
Pullin and Clayton Jr. held down the backcourt combining for 38 points and five 3-pointers.
Richard finished with 18 points despite shooting just 1-7 from the 3-point line. The Gators are now 10-1 in games in which Richard scores 10 or more points.
Condon came off the bench to provide energy for his squad with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.
“I think the next step for our group is just pushing through and playing the full 40,” Golden said. “Regardless of the score, regardless of the situation, just staying true to what we do in terms of our execution.”
Florida will travel to Lexington for a matchup with Kentucky on Wednesday. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @MaxTuckerUF25.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time. Max will be covering the Gators Golf teams this Fall for The Alligator.
