TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Walter Clayton scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half and No. 20 Florida held off a late rally to beat Florida State 87-74 on Friday night.
Florida’s Todd Golden coached his first road game after allegations of sexual harassment and stalking surfaced last week. Golden was greeted by boos from a sold-out Florida State student section. Alijah Martin added 17 points and five rebounds, Alex Condon had seven points and 12 rebounds and Florida (4-0) won its fourth straight rivalry game against Florida State.
Florida State trailed by 15 with just under eight minutes to go but chipped away and cut Florida’s lead to 77-73 with 2:23 to go. But Clayton and Martin made 3s to help Florida secure the win. Jamir Watkins had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Seminoles (3-1).
Justin Thomas hit three 3-pointers in the second half, finishing with 11 points. Florida: The Gators had 13 offensive rebounds and produced 16 second-chance points. Florida State: The Seminoles forced 19 turnovers, producing 16 points off turnovers, but the defensive effort wasn’t enough.
The Gators made 3s on back-to-back possessions to punctuate a 14-2 run, extending their lead to 37-19 with 5:36 until halftime. Florida shot 26% from 3-point range in its first three games but was 7 of 15 (46.7%) from beyond the arc in the first half and raced to a 44-31 lead at the break.
Florida hosts Florida A&M on Tuesday, the same day Florida State hosts Hofstra. Get poll alerts and updates.