Florida men’s basketball freshman forward Alex Condon missed a free throw with eight seconds left in the game as LSU possessed the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
As the Tigers’ Derek Fountain came down the court, he crossed Zyon Pullin, found LSU center Will Baker, but received the ball back with a wide-open hoop in sight.
With the game seemingly heading to overtime, Fountain’s shot shockingly came up short, allowing Florida to escape with its sixth win in seven games.
“I’m not pleased with the recurring theme of some of our second halves,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said.
The Florida Gators (17-7, 7-4 SEC) survived against the LSU Tigers (12-12, 4-7 SEC) 82-80 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Tuesday.
LSU erased a 20-point second-half deficit to trail by one point with under one minute left to play as the O’Dome fans anxiously rose to their feet.
A 3-pointer would put the Tigers ahead, and a 2-pointer would tie as the Gators desperately needed to lock down defensively.
Graduate student guard Zyon Pullin picked the pocket of Tigers guard Jalen Cook before kicking it ahead to junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. for a transition layup to give Florida a three-point advantage with 20 seconds left before UF came up with the game-sealing stop.
The Gators didn’t find much of a rhythm in the opening minutes of the game, trailing 7-2.
However, junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. and graduate student Tyrese Samuel flipped the switch for UF. They led a 6-0 run capped off by a fadeaway jumper by Clayton Jr. that broke the ankles of his defender and erupted the O’Dome.
Florida took an 11-9 advantage before LSU went on a scoring drought for over two minutes. The Gators continued to gain control and momentum largely due to Clayton Jr.’s 10 points over the first five minutes of the game.
The teams traded baskets mid-way through the first half before LSU graduate student forward Will Baker drained a 3-pointer to cut the UF lead to 25-21 at the 8:12 mark.
Baker carried the Tigers through the first half scoring 13 of his team’s 34 points.
Easy looks at the basket were hard to come by in the first half for LSU. Florida’s frontcourt made a statement defensively with four different players recording a block in the first 20 minutes of play.
Leading the defensive surge was freshman forward Alex Condon with three blocks. The Australian native has provided valuable energy and minutes for Golden’s squad all season long.
Despite getting quality looks at 3-point attempts to start the game, the Gators went into the break shooting 2-for-6 from long range. However, Florida was effective at getting the ball in the paint, recording 28 of its 48 first-half points in the paint.
An 11-3 Florida run in under two minutes of play was sparked by a ferocious dunk by Clayton Jr. on the fast break. The Iona transfer took the ball coast-to-coast before taking flight to throw down a huge finish at the rim over his defender’s head.
The Gators made eight of their last nine field goals to close the half, taking a 48-34 lead into the break. Graduate student guard Zyon Pullin sank a step-back 3-pointer from the left wing to close the half.
“I think it was very important,” Golden said. “If we didn’t have that 14-point lead and they outscored us by 12 in the second half we would have been in trouble.”
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Baker and sophomore forward Jalen Reed cut the UF lead to 10 points in the opening minutes after halftime.
“Baker’s super tough cover,” Golden said. “Unconventional in our league for a pick-and-pop five man to play like that.”
The Gators took off on a 10-0 run to give them their largest lead of the game at 60-40 with 15:31 left in the game.
Clayton Jr. continued his solid play throughout the second half with five points in the opening four-plus minutes.
Golden’s squad has a recent history this season of going through dry spells offensively.
Tuesday’s matchup carried much of the same theme as the team went on a three-plus minute scoring drought while shooting just 1-for-12 from the field midway through the second half.
After the Tigers switched to a zone defense, UF fell completely out of whack offensively. The team has struggled to find a groove on offense this season when matched up against zone defense.
“We’re gonna get back to the drawing board and work on it to make sure that we can execute until they get out of it,” graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel said.
LSU took advantage of UF’s streaky shooting to go on a 12-2 run led by sophomore forward Tyrell Ward to shrink Florida’s lead to 66-57 at the 8:48 mark.
But what was once a 20-point lead for the Gators was now down to just five as the Tigers continued to apply pressure. Players and fans shared a similar thought: Here we go again.
“I think subconsciously we were thinking that,” Condon said. “But we just kept trying to play our hardest down the stretch.”
As the Gators hung on for dear life, a mid-range jumper by Pullin gave Florida a bit of breathing room as the lead was extended back to seven on the following possession.
But the contest was far from over. LSU displayed tremendous fight down the stretch of the game.
Although the Tigers came up short, another blown second-half lead by the Gators highlighted their sixth win in seven games.
Three players finished with double-digit scoring marks with Clayton Jr. leading the way with a team-high 21 points. Samuel and Pullin rounded out the Gators offensive attack with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
“In the big picture, we’ve been playing some really good ball,” Golden said. “[We] won six out of the last seven in one of if not the best leagues in America.”
Florida will travel to Athens for a matchup against Georgia on Saturday. Tip-off will be at 1 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum.
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.
