Florida Gators

What Happened

Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, while freshman center Alex Condon came off the bench for his first career double-double to help Florida use a second-half surge to pass Merrimack for a 77-57 victory Tuesday night at Exactech Arena. The Gators went on a run of 26-2 that began with just over four minutes into the second period and ended inside the 9-minute mark. Before the flurry began, the Warriors led 37-34. When it ended, UF was up 60-39, thanks to 14 consecutive MC misses, and the Gators coasted from there. That wasn't the case earlier in the evening. The first 30 minutes or so were tough on the UF coaches (and fans). Florida trailed for basically the entire first half, thanks to a dreadful 5-for-19 shooting start against the 2-3 zone defense that Merrimack stayed in the entire game. The Warriors, out of the Northeast Conference, actually led by 10 with eight minutes left in the opening period before the Gators began chipping away to make it a one-point MC lead at the break. UF shot just 39.7 percent for the game (just a smidge better, 42.5, in the second half), though Clayton went 10 of 15 from and four of seven from the 3-point line over his 31 minutes. Condon, the 6-foot-11 Australian, finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds in a career-high 24 minutes off the bench. Two graduate transfers, forward Tyrese Samuel and point guard Zyon Pullin, also finished in double figures, with freshman forward Tommy Haugh pulling down 11 boards to join "Condo" in helping UF win the rebounding battle 57-33, including 24 on the offensive end. Merrimack shot just 33.3 percent for the game, including 0-for-12 from 3 in the second half. 
 

What it Means

The end of a two-game losing skid. That's about it, especially after the first troublesome 20 minutes watching the Gators try and deal with the zone. This one isn't going to move the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) needle at all, given Merrimack started the day at No. 161 and far worse (265th) in the KenPom.com overall rankings.  
 

In the Spotlight

Rest assured, Condon will have more double-doubles. This was just the eighth game of his career. Oh, and he just started playing basketball four years ago. Imagine when he figures things out. 
 

Staggering Statistic

Condon became the first Florida freshman since Will Yeguete in 2010-11 to grab at least 15 rebounds in a game. Yeguete did it against North Carolina A&T.
 

Up Next

The Gators (5-3) are back on the road, this time for another bus trip down the Florida Turnpike to play in the Orange Bowl Classic, a double-header at Sunrise, Fla., with UF and Florida State as the main draws. The Gators will take on Richmond (5-3), a very capable opponent out of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Spiders have a game against Northern Iowa on Wednesday before they make way to South Florida. The UF-Richmond game is slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off and will follow FSU vs. South Florida, which starts at 1.