Texas A&M was scratching and clawing to keep its hopes of an SEC Championship alive down by five points with five minutes left in the game.
Florida sophomore Denzel Aberdeen had a different thought in mind.
The guard splashed home a 3-point shot from the left corner which was the icing on the cake for what was his best performance in his collegiate career. His play led UF and ultimately was the difference in ending the Aggies shot at an SEC title.
Florida (24-10) put together a second-half surge to knock off Texas A&M (20-14) 95-90 in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Saturday.
The Gators once again found themselves in an early hole which they have grown accustomed to throughout their run in the SEC Tournament. Largely in part because the Aggies’ leading scorer Wade Taylor IV looked unstoppable to start the game.
The junior scored eight points in the first two-plus minutes of the game and knocked down three 3-pointers in less than five. Taylor IV surpassed his season average of 18.5 points per game with 20 at the half and carried the Aggies in the early going.
While A&M was cruising to a 6-0 run in just over one minute midway through the first half, the Gators offense continued to struggle en route to a 3:36 field goal drought.
The Aggies were playing a physical style of defense that gave Florida all sorts of fits. They forced UF into mustering six turnovers that turned into 11 Texas A&M points.
Settling into an offensive groove against an extended 1-3-1 zone defense has been an issue for this Florida team and the Aggies gave them a similar taste of this medicine Saturday.
The A&M lead grew to 37-22 at the 5:38 mark of the first half and the Gators had their backs pinned against the wall.
All-SEC graduate student guard Zyon Pullin was held scoreless through 15 minutes of play and UF’s leading scorer junior Walter Clayton Jr. couldn’t get much cooking either shooting 2-for-7 in the opening 20 minutes. The duo combined for just 10 points heading into the break.
It would be a crucial final four minutes of the half for Florida head coach Todd Golden’s squad.
Gator fans saw the game seemingly getting out of hand as they faced a deficit as large as 18. However, it was an unexpected performance that allowed UF to storm back into the game.
Aberdeen came into the matchup averaging just 2.6 points per game on the season but erupted for 12 points in 12 minutes carrying Florida to a 20-8 run to close the half, and gain some momentum as they trailed 50-42 at the break.
The Florida backcourt wasted no time making an impact on the game after a quiet early going. Pullin and Clayton Jr. each sank a 3-pointer in the first four minutes of the half as the Gators continued to close the gap on the scoreboard.
UF was stellar shooting the ball from beyond the arc when it mattered the most, Saturday. Florida shot 56% for the game and buried eight threes in the final 20 minutes of play.
Taylor IV and Aberdeen both had stellar performances to start the contest. Though, it was the UF sophomore guard who was the difference maker down the stretch.
Aberdeen finished with a career-high 20 points, surpassing his previous high of 12. He was active on the defensive end as well, recording four steals. The most by a Gator since Keyontae Johnson in 2019.
It was the talented sophomore who capped off a 7-0 and 8-0 run for UF with a pair of 3-pointers that hit nothing but net, allowing Florida to earn an advantage as the game entered crunch time. The Gators earned their first lead with 13:51 left in the game, but the battle was far from won.
Both teams instantly began trading blows leading to five lead changes in the next 53 seconds.
However, A&M’s offense went stagnant for a 2-for-10 shooting stretch where they didn’t record a field goal for over four minutes allowing UF to earn its largest lead of the game at 86-75 with just over three minutes to play.
The Aggies mustered a last-minute 6-0 run to cut Florida’s lead to five as their hopes of a victory were dwindling away. The Gators would slam the door shut with efficient free throw shooting at the end of regulation making nine of their last 10 attempts from the charity stripe.
It was another balanced offensive attack in the semifinal victory. Five players once again finished with double-digit scoring marks for Florida. Aberdeen led the way with 20 points and junior guard Will Richard followed his lead with 19.
After the slow start, Clayton Jr. and Pullin combined for 31 points and six 3-pointers.
Freshman forward Alex Condon had another impressive performance off the bench with nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel rounded out the UF frontcourt with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Florida will now play in its first SEC Championship game since 2014. The Gators will take on No. 2 Auburn at 1 p.m. in Nashville, Sunday.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
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.
