What Happened
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior guard
Will Richard scored 21 points with five 3-pointers and sophomore forward
Alex Condon tallied 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, as sixth-ranked Florida defeated Vanderbilt 86-75 with its standout guard and leading scorer
Walter Clayton Jr. sidelined with an ankle injury Tuesday night at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
With Clayton out with an ankle sprain, UF turned to junior
Denzel Aberdeen, who was terrific in his first career start in scoring 13 points and dishing three assists without a turnover in a career-high 35 minutes. Florida had 20 assists for the game, with five different players with at least three.
The Gators trailed by a point, 36-35 at halftime, but shot 64 percent in the second half and made seven of 11 from the 3-point line. UF led by three, 57-54, when backup sophomore guard
Urban Klavzar, getting his most crucial minutes of his young career, bombed back-to-back 3s, to jolt his team and the home crowd and push the lead to nine. After a Vandy timeout, UF got a stop and
Alijah Martin scored his first basket of the game to push his team's lead to double digits.
The closest the game got after that was seven, at 72-65 with 4:22 to go, but the Gators ran off seven straight on two free throws by Aberdeen, a baseline slam by Martin and a back-breaking 3-ball by Richard, who went eight of 11 for the game, 5-for-7 from deep and grabbed seven rebounds in a career-high 39 minutes.
Vanderbilt shot 51 percent for the game, but was outscored 51-39 in the second half while UF was shooting 64 percent and making seven of 11 from deep.
Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen, here during pre-game introductions, scored 13 points and dished three assists without a turnover over 35 minutes in his first career start.
What it Means
Beating a solid Vandy team (for a Quadrant 2 home win) with their best player scratched should not be underestimated, At the midway point of the season, the Gators sit in a tie with Texas A&M for fourth place in the SEC standings, with six teams either a game or game and a half back. And don't discount what the contributions from Aberdeen and Klavzar could do for their confidence and the team's in the second half of the league season.
In the Spotlight
Take a bow, Denzel. So poised.
Staggering Statistic
Klavzar, the Slovenian who dealt with eligibility issues when he arrived on campus this summer and sat out the first three games with eligibility issues, came into the game three of 16 from the 3-point line and had not scored in just 5:40 of SEC play. His two 3s gave him (and the Gators) six monumental points in just 35 seconds and helped turn the game.
Up Next
Florida (19-3, 6-3) has back-to-back road dates against ranked opponents, starting with Saturday afternoon's trip to No. 1 and league-unbeaten Auburn (20-1, 8-0). The Tigers, whose lone loss this season came at No. 2 Duke, played Oklahoma at home later Tuesday. They have a two-game winning streak against the Gators in the pit that Coach
Bruce Pearl has coined "The Jungle." After that one, UF will play next Tuesday night at No. 22 Mississippi State (16-6, 4-5). Vanderbilt (16-6, 4-5) plays Texas at home Saturday.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
