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The No. 21 Florida Gator men’s basketball team picked up right where it left off last season in Monday’s season opener against USF in Jacksonville.
After averaging 89.8 points per game last season, the Gators handed the Bulls 98 points in the Jacksonville Sports Foundation Invitational at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
South Florida went into halftime with the lead, but a combined 54 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard led to a 98-83 Gators win.
game 1 ✔️#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/aILpqvy0Rm
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 5, 2024
The game was played 11 days after USF second-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, 43, died during a surgical procedure. UF wore warm-up T-shirts with Abdur-Rahim’s name on the back and the Bulls wore patches with his initials.
[Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Shaky Start
The Bulls came out strong in the first half, taking advantage of poor shooting by the Gators. Florida missed its first five 3-point shots and trailed 17-16 at the 10-minute mark.
USF continued a 16-2 run and established a 28-18 lead to force Gators coach Todd Golden to call his first timeout of the game.
The Bulls took their biggest lead with 6:13 left in the half at 36-23, as the Gators still struggled by only making 1 of 12 3-point attempts.
However, Florida found its stride toward the end of the half.
Richard exploded for eight straight points to cut the Bulls’ lead to 36-33 and banked home a jumper at the first-half buzzer. Florida went into the locker room down 40-39 with momentum behind Richard’s 12 first-half points.
Two-Man Takeover
Florida took the lead early in the second half, but the Bulls’ 3-point shooting kept the game neck-and-neck. South Florida ended the game making 13 of 27 from beyond the arc compared to Florida’s 5 of 25.
Richard and Clayton eventually took the game by storm, combining for 33 of the Gators’ 59 second-half points.
steal + slam #GoGators | SECN pic.twitter.com/NFed2PmtAX
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 5, 2024
FAU transfer Alijah Martin added 11 points in the second half to help the Gators build a 13-0 run and a 76-62 lead.
As Florida continued to push the ball and force turnovers, the Gators began to pile on the points. Golden’s explosive offense had four starters in double figures by the final buzzer.
Clayton Jr. made five consecutive shots to end the game, including a dagger from beyond the arc to make the score 91-78 with 2:34 remaining.
Clayton Jr’s 29 points and Richard’s career-high 25 confirmed a season-opening 98-83 win for the Gators.
that’s a new career high for @willrxch
25 pts pic.twitter.com/6HejrIcN6o
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 5, 2024
Up Next
USF (0-1) stays on the road to face the College of Charleston on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Gators (1-0) play their home-opener against Jacksonville University (1-0) at 8 p.m. Thursday. The game will be carried by the SEC Network+, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
