‘Huge win for us’: Gators break down win in Fayetteville

Gators’ point guard Walter Clayton extended his streak to 39 consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal, matching Lee Humphrey for the second-longest such streak in Florida history behind Michael Frazier II (41).

Florida scored 70+ points for the 17th straight game, the second-longest such streak in program history (26, 12/17/1976 to 12/7/1977).

Head coach Todd Golden, sophomore forward Alex Condon and senior guard Will Richard met with the media after the game to break down the win.

“Big win. Big win for us. I think we were fighting human nature a little bit after Tuesday night – big win for us and we were a little tired emotionally and physically. I was a little worried about how we would be able to respond against a team that was awfully competitive. Early on, of course, our guys were pretty solid. I thought we were not perfect, but we competed well enough to win. We came back when we needed to. I thought we did a good job protecting the rim, which was a big part of our scouting today, and I went up and knocked down some big shots. hit the big three in the second half, then Condo’s (Alex Condon) pop three iced the game I think with 1:23 left to put us up 12. We had several really good efforts . One guy I want to highlight is Sam Alexis I thought he stepped up remarkably tonight, gave us great minutes off the bench to give us six (points) and seven (rebounds) and to play a really solid game was huge for us .”

On the pause message…

“We didn’t handle their pressure very well, but I thought we left some points out there behind the 3-point line. We were 3-for-16 in the first half from three. I thought we had some really good looks that we didn’t knock down. When we spoke at half-time, it was again to continue to take care of the ball. We had two swing plays – pick-sixes that led to layups for them. But we thought if we just stayed the course we’d be OK, and of course we stepped up and scored 43 in the second half, so we were a lot better that way.”

If Sam Alexis steps up and should feel good about himself after this performance…

“As he should. We talked about if we’re going to achieve our goal of being an elite team and playing deep into March, we need different guys to step up on different nights. He had an extended opportunity tonight with all the foul trouble we played through. To his credit, there was no drop-off when he was in the game. It was the first time we’ve played a really good opponent in a big game where I thought he looked as if he Felt good. He did everything we asked of him. I thought he was 50-50 rebounds. I thought he did a good job of starting our offense him after the game, that if we continue to make him play better and better, obviously it’s going to make us pretty tough.”

Sophomore F/C Alex Condon

Weather a slow start…

“We came out and started the game a little slow. The energy we came out with in the second half, finding open guys and getting to the free throw line, it was a lot better in the second half than the first.”

Senior G Will Richard

About playing in a game of many whistles…

“You have to read the play, see how the refs are calling it and then pick your spots. There were parts during the game they were calling things and parts of the game when they weren’t, so you just have to play smart.”