Clayton scores 25 points as No. 20 Florida, Todd Golden beat Florida State 87-74 on the road

0:18

Walter Clayton Jr. knocks down the triple

Walter Clayton Jr. knocks down the triple

Nov 16, 2024, 01:48 am

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- — 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.

Takeaways

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.

Key moment

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.

Key stat

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.

Up next

Florida hosts Florida A&M on Tuesday, the same day Florida State hosts Hofstra.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball:  https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll  and  https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball