Walter Clayton Jr. Forces OT, Uplifts Florida to Quad-I Win vs. Kentucky

Walter Clayton Jr.'s seven three-pointers, including several in clutch moments, uplifted the Gators to a monumental win over the Wildcats.

Down three with the clock winding under 15 seconds left, the Gators had one final shot to keep their hopes of earning a Quad-I victory over the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats inside Rupp Arena alive. 

Junior Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. answered the call. 

Rececing the ball just off-center from the top of the key, Clayton got Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard to jump past him on the fly-by before resetting himself to sink the game-tying three-pointer. His sixth triple of the night proved to be the most important, as the bucket extended the Gators' chances to knock off the 'Cats.

In overtime, Clayon struck again to bury another shot from beyond the arc. It ultimately proved to be the difference in Florida's 94-91 win.

The Gators advance to 15-6 (5-3 SEC) and extend their current win streak to four with the impressive triumph.

Despite the early expectation of a fast-developing, offensively oriented affair, defense reigned supreme in the early going as each unit shot under 40% from the field through the first 8:30 of action. The contest was tied at 14 at that time.

Then, the lid came off the rim for both the Gators and Wildcats as the two squads traded triples on four of five possessions, quickly garnering offensive momentum in a game expected to be a high-octane back-and-forth affair.

However, following the short spurt of scoring — which saw 22 combined points in 3:16 with UF leading 28-27 — Florida went cold from the floor, missing their next nine shot attempts to go nearly 6:30 minutes of game time without a make from the floor.

Kentucky took advantage, reeling off a 14-3 during that span to take a commanding ten-point lead over the Gators with 1:10 remaining in the first half. 

Zyon Pullin ended the extended field goal drought with a triple from the right wing before Will Richard ran ahead of the back for a transition layup in the final minute of the period.

The quick answer from Todd Golden's group kept it within striking distance heading into the halftime break, trailing by just five, 41-36.

The late-half surge carried over into the second half, as the Gators scored the first six points of the period to take a one-point lead over the Wildcats briefly.

They traded blows from that point forward, as evidenced by 29 lead changes and 15 ties in the game.

Florida, despite its pesky efforts to remain within striking distance of Kentucky, looked as if it would once again fall short of downing the Wildcats as time winded down in regulation.

However, a missed free throw by Rob Dillingham as the Cats led by three opened the door for the Gators. Clayton took advantage, connecting on the aforementioned game-tying three with five seconds remaining in regulation.

Florida scored first to open the overtime period but fell down one with several missed opportunities on the offensive end. Kentucky failed to capitalize on the other end, though, keeping the door open for UF to turn in a resume-defining win.

Clayton's magic struck once again with 1:42 left to put the Gators up three. Guard Pullin helped ice the game from the line, finishing the contest with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to supplement Clayton's efforts.

The junior finished with a team-high 23 points, while forward Tyrese Samuel added a crucial 22 points in the monumental victory.

Florida's winning streak moves to four with a trip to College Station to take on Texas A&M on Saturday next up on the slate.

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