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Florida pulled away from Vanderbilt on Tuesday night for an 86-75 victory in Gainesville behind Will Richard’s 21 points and Alex Condon’s 19.
The 6th-ranked Gators (19-3, 6-3 SEC) got the bounce-back victory they were yearning for after losing by 20 points at Tennessee on Saturday and losing star point guard Walter Clayton Jr. along with it. Clayton, Florida’s leading scorer, was a game-time decision on Tuesday night, but he was ruled out about an hour before tip-off, so Clayton was forced to watch from the bench because of a sprained ankle.
Denzel Aberdeen filled in for Clayton, scoring 13 points with 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 35 minutes without a single turnover, so Clayton’s absence wasn’t felt as much as it could’ve been because of Aberdeen’s efforts.
Fellow Gators guard Alijah Martin gave head coach Todd Golden yet another scare when he tweaked his left hip in the first half. Martin returned to the game but wasn’t a factor, finishing with 8 points, 4 assists and 5 turnovers.
Florida’s offense ran as smoothly as ever despite not having Clayton to run it. The Gators shot a whopping 57.4% from the field and 47.6% from 3-point territory.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt (16-6, 4-5) shot a hair over 50% but struggled elsewhere, going just 6 of 19 from 3-point land and 7 of 12 from the free throw line. The Commodores were also outrebounded 35-29 in losing their fourth straight road game. Jason Edwards led Vandy with 20 points, but the magic the Commodores have had at home this season hasn’t translated to the road.
Now, Florida will head to the Plains to take on No. 1 Auburn on Saturday. Vanderbilt will host Texas on Saturday.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
