What Happened
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Florida fifth-year guard Alijah Martin scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, while sophomore forward Alex Condon posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists, as the eighth-ranked Gators held off host Arkansas for a 71-63 road victory in their Southeastern Conference game Saturday at Walton Arena.
Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. added 12 points and five assists, with all but one of his points during a second half when UF had to play through a sluggish, fouled-plagued 20 minutes that put the Razorbacks at the free-throw line 27 times, while the visitors were trying to protect a lead that was 11 with just over 10 minutes to go but just three inside six minutes remaining.
That’s when Clayton hit a 3-pointer and Condon followed with two free throws and a run-out dunk to throw ice on the home team’s rally. After two free throws by Arkansas point guard Boogie Fland (15 points), Martin answered with a 3 that restored the 11-point margin. Martin fouled out seven seconds later, soon followed by Rueben Chinyelu (and eventually Thomas Haugh), with the Hogs making it a seven-point game with 2:26 left on a 3 by Fland.
At UF’s end, though, Condon dropped a clutch, late-clock 3 of his own and, after a defensive stop, threw in a low-post roller to put his team up a dozen with 1:23 to play.
Arkansas jumped to an early nine-point lead to start the game, but UF scored 11 unanswered points to take go up for the first time at 15-13 and did not trail the rest of the game (there were two ties), despite shooting just 31.4 percent and hitting only three of 13 from deep in the first half. The Gators were better in the second half at 48 percent overall and five of 12 from distance. They won the rebounding battle 49-39 and outscored the Hogs 32-22 in the paint.
The Hogs, who were led by 17 points by forward Adou Thiero, shot just 30 percent for the game and finished three of 16 from the arc. They were 24 of 35 at the free-throw line.
What it Means
Chalk up another Quadrant 1 victory, per the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET). That makes UF 4-1 in Q1 opportunities (subject to change with real-time results, of course) and keeps the Gators a game out of first-place in a SEC race that may have become even more competitive depending on the severity of the injury to Auburn forward Johnie Broome, the league’s best player and top candidate for National Player of the Year. Broome was carried from the floor with an ankle injury in the Tigers’ win at South Carolina. For UF, it was the first road win in the series since 2019, after three consecutive losses.
In the Spotlight
Take a bow, Sam Alexis. The junior backup spelled UF’s foul-trouble front court and finished with six points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes.
Staggering Statistic
Fans don’t want to watch a game when 44 fouls are called and 55 free throws are shot. Neither do coaches. And players definitely don’t want to play in such a game, especially four days after that let-’em-play slugfest against Tennessee.
Up Next
After opening SEC play with two of three on the road, Florida (15-1, 2-1) will be at home for three of the next four, starting Tuesday night against Missouri (13-3, 2-1) and a late tip-off of 9 p.m. The Tigers are a far cry from the team that became just the second in SEC history to go 0-18 in league play. They opened the season with a road loss at Memphis, then reeled off 10 consecutive wins, including an upset of No. 1 Kansas at home, and Saturday defeated Vanderbilt 75-66 at Columbia, Mo.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
