GAINESVILLE, Fla. – About five hours before tip-off, the Florida Gators huddled in their locker room and were told senior point guard and leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. might not be available for Tuesday night's game against Vanderbilt due to the ankle sprain he suffered three days earlier in the loss at Tennessee. 
 
The theme for the Gators instantly turned into an appropriate one for a date against a team called the Commodores. 
 
All hands on deck. 
 
UF coach Todd Golden and his staff informed junior guard Denzel Aberdeen that he would get the first start of his career and be charged with running the offense. A couple of seldom-used reserves, sophomore guard Urban Klavzar and freshman wing Isaiah Brown (each with just five minutes of mop-up duty in Southeastern Conference play), would have to play, also. 
 
"We needed guys to step up and take advantage of opportunities," Golden said. 
 
And guys did. As it turned out, sixth-ranked Florida's 86-75 victory was a testament to backups seizing the moment, but also a lesson in resilience for some starters looking to bounce back from the blowout performance over the weekend that in no way resembled what the Gators (19-3, 6-3) had put on tape through their first 20 games of the season.
 
Senior guard Will Richard, who scored two points on just two field-goal attempts at Knoxville, poured in 21 points, bombed five 3s and grabbed seven rebounds in a career-high 39 minutes. Sophomore forward Alex Condon, with just one field goal and four points last time out, had 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Aberdeen, in stepping in for Clayton and playing "fantastic," according to his coach, scored 13 points, dished three assists and did not turn the ball over in his career-high 35 minutes. 
 
As for Klavzar? More on him below. 
 
"We came in with the mindset of 'next man up,' " said Aberdeen, who ran an offense that shot 57 percent for the game – 64 percent in a 51-point second half when the Gators took control – and finished with a SEC-high 20 assists to 10 turnovers. "Our guys came off the bench and did a great job of keeping that mindset going, keeping us in that rhythm."  Better yet, they did on a night when things weren't really going the home team's way for a good portion of the proceedings. The Commodores (16-6, 4-5), with two wins over top-10 teams (Tennessee and Kentucky) the last two weeks, shot nearly 54 percent in the first half – for a 36-35 lead at intermission – and got off to hot start out of the locker room, as did the Gators. 
 
Vandy led 50-49 inside 14 minutes to play when UF backup forward Sam Alexis nailed just his third 3 of the season to give the Gators a one-point lead. After a defensive stop, Richard drained another 3 for a five-point edge that after 12 lead changes and 11 ties through the game's first 28 minutes felt like a double-digit advantage.
 
It soon was. 
 
"The 3s were back-breakers," Commodores coach Mark Byington said. 
 
Yes, they were. The UF lead was 57-54, with Vandy guard Jason Edwards (20 points) and burly backup forward Jaylen Carey (15 points, 5 rebounds), keeping the visitors in the game. With just under nine minutes to go, Alexis was double-teamed from the high post and pitched a pass to Klavzar, the Slovenian with the sweet stroke but just 3-for-18 from distance this season, to that point. 
 
Klavzar swished a 3 from the wing.
 
"Felt great when I hit the first one," Klavzar said. "The second felt special when the whole arena kind of erupted." That second one was on the very next possession, when Thomas Haugh (8 points, 9 rebounds) found the open Klavzar with a bounce pass in transition on the wing. Bang! A second 3 in 35 seconds. The lead was nine. Timeout Vandy.
 
"Once he made that first one I was pretty confident the second one was going to go in. You could tell he got a little confidence and let it rip," Golden said. "Nothing but net on both. Those were huge, huge shots for us. Really proud of him."
 
The Gators got another stop out of the timeout and answered it in the halfcourt when guard Alijah Martin (8 points, 4 assists), who missed his first nine shots at Tennessee and had five first-half turnovers in this one, got his first bucket of the game on a lefty jumper in the paint for an 11-point margin. 
 
The Commodores drew within seven once, but the Gators kept the pressure on, with three straight possessions that, in sequence, ended in Aberdeen free throws, a baseline tomahawk slam by Martin and Richards' final 3 of the game with 2:41 to play. 

"We showed we had depth, but for us I think it was more about coming out and playing hard. Playing with effort and energy," Richard said. "I feel like that's what separates us and takes us to the next level." 

This time, it took them to the next win and Clayton was ecstatic about it, cheering his team on from the sideline. The Gators won a big one without him and their reward is a Saturday trip to face No. 1 and league-unbeaten Auburn. Maybe they'll have their leader back. 
 
"Honestly, I'm as proud of this win as I am any of the others due to the circumstance," Golden said after his team improved to 11-1 on the season at home. "We stepped up." 
 
Literally, everybody did.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu