Walter Clayton Jr. delivered 17 points, five assists and five steals and No. 5 Florida overwhelmed Georgia with its rabid defense in an 89-59 win on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.
Alijah Martin scored all 17 of his points in the first half and Will Richard supplied 16 points in the game for the Gators (18-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference), who won their 12th game in a row over the Bulldogs.
Thomas Haugh had the second double-double of his career, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Gators. Alex Condon added 14 points and eight rebounds for Florida, which trailed for just 11 seconds on its way to beating its former coach, Mike White, for the sixth straight time.
The Gators did it with a frenzied defense that forced the Bulldogs to commit 18 turnovers, with all but four coming in the first half. Florida outscored Georgia 29-11 off giveaways.
Florida made 53.1 percent of its shots from the field, including 9 of 26 from 3-point range (34.6 percent), while Georgia hit 35.6 percent of its attempts from the floor, making 5 of 21 shots from beyond the arc (23.8 percent).
The Gators’ defense prevented the Bulldogs from being patient on offense and relying on points in the paint. Georgia’s top scorer, Asa Newell, a freshman, had a season-low eight points.
Blue Cain scored 10 points, all in the first half, to lead the Bulldogs (14-6, 2-5), who dropped their fourth game in a row.
Martin got Florida off to a quick start, setting the tone by snatching three steals in the first four minutes of the contest.
Martin also cashed in at the other end with two 3-pointers, a breakaway slam, a layup and a free throw as the Gators took a 16-11 lead just 5:07 into the game.
With its defense fueling the offense, Florida made eight straight shots during one stretch in the first half.
Later in the period, in a span of less than three minutes, Richard made a trio of 3-pointers as the Gators doubled up the Bulldogs at 38-19.
Florida snagged its biggest lead of the first half when Clayton nabbed a backcourt steal and fed Martin for a breakaway tomahawk slam that made it 51-24.
In the second half, Clayton triggered a 10-0 spree with three driving layups. The burst put the Gators up 67-37 about midway through the period.
–Field Level Media
