MBB: No. 13 Gators cruise past Cavaliers, 87-69, in ACC/SEC Challenge

By Scott Ratcliffe

Top-25 Florida put on a dominant display in its 87-69 victory over Virginia in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday in Gainesville, the Cavaliers’ first true road game of the season.

UVA (5-3) had a chance to take the lead early in the second half on an Isaac McKneely 3-point attempt before the home team rattled off 7 unanswered points, part of an 11-3 run that turned a 1-point advantage into a 9-point bulge.

The 13th-ranked Gators moved to 9-0 on the season, and the last time they had a start like that, they won a national title. Florida took full advantage of UVA’s 15 turnovers, scoring 20 points on the opposite end, easily the difference in this game.

Senior Gators guard Walter Clayton turned the Stephen C. O’Connell Center into his own shooting gallery, pouring in a game-high 27 points on a 10-of-19 night. Clayton sank half of the Gators’ 10 triples, scoring 18 of his points after halftime.

The Wahoos jumped out to an early lead before the Gators began to chomp away at it, eventually moving in front on a Denzel Aberdeen 3-pointer, part of a 20-2 spurt that gave them a 29-20 lead. UVA went scoreless for over seven minutes on the other end until Elijah Saunders knocked down a pair of free throws with 5:53 left in the first half.

Sandwiched in between a pair of Clayton long balls, Jacob Cofie scored on a nice spin move, marking the Hoos’ first field-goal make in more than nine minutes.

The Cavaliers closed the half on a 7-2 run to get within four, 39-35, at the break, and then Saunders nailed a tough, contested corner 3 in the opening minute of the second half to cut it to one before the wheels fell off.

Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin converted a reverse layup off of a Virginia giveaway to quickly stretch the lead to nine just after the under-16 media timeout, and that was about as close as it got the rest of the way.

UVA shot 46 percent (26 for 57) and 38 percent from downtown (8 for 21), knocking down 9 of 10 from the charity stripe and winning the rebounding battle by a 34-30 margin. Once again, those numbers were spoiled by the points off turnovers that continue to plague the Cavaliers in their losses, as the Gators accumulated 9 steals and 3 blocks along the way.

Saunders scored a career-best 19 points (6 of 12 FG; 3 for 5 from deep) to lead the way, while McKneely added a dozen points, all from beyond the arc (4 for 8), and also led the team in rebounds (7) and assists (5). Blake Buchanan, Taine Murray and Cofie each added 8 points, while Dai Dai Ames had 7.

Florida shot at a 52-percent clip (31 for 60), 40 percent from long distance (10 of 25) and 15 for 21 (71 percent) from the foul line.

Aside from Clayton’s big night, the Gators also got a huge contribution from 6-foot-11 sophomore Alex Condon, who put up 19 points (7 for 8 FG) and a game-high 8 rebounds. Martin added 16 points and Aberdeen chipped in with 12 off the bench.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia fell to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the SEC/ACC Challenge
• UVA is 0-3 vs. ranked opponents (Tennessee, St. John’s, Florida)
• UVA is 0-2 vs. SEC opponents (Tennessee, Florida)
• The 87 points were the most allowed by UVA since 98 to then-No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 26, 2020
• All three of UVA’s losses have been by 18 or more points
• UVA shot 51.9 percent in the first half, but trailed 39-35 at the break
• UVA started 5 of 8 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, to lead 13-7 at 15:16 of the first half
• Florida gained its first lead at 21-20 on a 3-pointer from Denzel Aberdeen at 9:02 of the first half
• The Gators’ 15-0 run gave them a 29-20 lead
• UVA made eight 3-pointers and has made six or more in each of its eight games
• UVA’s last top-15 ranked road win was at then-No. 7 Duke, 69-68, on Feb. 7, 2022
• UVA yielded 38 points in the paint and Florida scored 20 points off of 15 UVA turnovers

Series Notes

• Virginia is 2-3 all-time vs. Florida, including an 0-1 mark in Gainesville

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Elijah Saunders (19), Isaac McKneely (12)
• Saunders had a career-high 19 points (previous high was 16 for SDSU vs. Washington last season)
• Saunders made a season-high three 3-pointers
• Saunders scored in double figures for the fourth time (11 career)
• McKneely scored in double figures for the seventh time (33 career)
• McKneely (4 3-pointers) has made multiple 3-pointers in six games
• McKneely had career highs in rebounds (7) and assists (5)
• Taine Murray had a season-high 8 points off the bench

UP NEXT

The Hoos will begin ACC play on Saturday when they travel to Dallas to face SMU (2:15 p.m., The CW Network).