Walter Clayton Jr.'s Big Night Leads Gators Past Virginia

The Florida Gators knock off the Cavalier to have their best start to the season in nearly 20 years

Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. has a big night against Virginia / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Gainesville, Fla. – No. 13 Florida Gators left Exactech Arena on Wednesday with a win in the SEC/ACC challenge over the Virginia Cavaliers 87-69. This moves them to 9-0 on the season, which is the first time they have achieved this feat since 2005-06. It is also only the third time it’s been done in program history. 

This feat was accomplished thanks to the efforts of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, Alex Condon and Denzel Aberdeen. All four of them were in double-digits in the scoring department, led by Clayton Jr. with 27 points. 

Aberdeen, Alexis Provide Spark Off the Bench

It was a rough beginning for the Gators in this contest against the Cavaliers as they made just three of their opening eight shots and neither of their first two 3-point attempts. Additionally, the defense was rough, allowing Virginia to start the game with an 18-11 lead and shooting seven-for-10 from the field overall and 4-for-6 from downtown. 

However, things would get better for the home team. From around the 14:17 mark of the first half until the 6:14 mark, the Gators went on a 20-2 run that put them out in front 29-20 over their opponents. 

And while it was a team effort that manufactured this run, both Sam Alexis and Denzel Aberdeen were key reasons as to how this run began. Aberdeen poured in eight points during this stretch and Alexis added two points, three offensive rebounds and one big assist for a Will Richard 3-pointer. 

This wasn’t enough to pull away from their opponents though. 

For the Cavaliers, despite trailing by nine points at the end of the Gators' run, they never let them get too far out of reach and kept it at a single-digit advantage for the Gators heading into halftime. 

Going into the half, the Gators were in front 39-35 and led by Aberdeen who contributed 10 points in his 13 minutes off the bench. Additionally, Alexis played a huge role in giving the Gators the lead. He had four offensive rebounds, two points and one assist, but also provided solid defense in his time on the court. 

Gators Cruise to a Victory Thanks to an Uber-Efficient Second Half

Walter Clayton Jr., despite a rough first half shooting-wise, came out on fire for the Gators in the second. He scored a quick seven points for the Gators offense that helped build a seven-point lead over the Cavaliers. 

Eventually, the Gators used this Clayton Jr. burst and an additional seven points from Alex Condon to push themselves in front 60-45 over the Cavaliers. But this lead would expand even larger after this. 

Heading into the final eight minutes of this contest, the Gators found themselves ahead 72-52 over the Cavaliers. However, most of that could be attributed to Clayton Jr.'s 16 points up to this point in the second half, including a four-point play from the senior. 

Walter Clayton Jr. AND1 3PTer #NBADraft2025 pic.twitter.com/HwC3Ox6RhS

— Deee Black (@Deee_Black_) December 5, 2024

Florida’s effort did start to fade a little though as Virginia went on a 10-4 run over the next three minutes or so to slightly dig into the Gators' advantage. They didn’t cut it by much though as it was still a 14-point lead for Florida with just 4:50 left in the game.

This is pretty much as close as it got though. The Gators responded by going on their own 6-0 run to push their lead back to 20 points. And then, at the final whistle, the Gators outclassed the Cavaliers 87-69 to put another win on the board for the SEC in the SEC/ACC challenge. 

In the second half, the Gators were very efficient, which is one of the biggest reasons they won this one. The offense was 16-for-25 from the field and five-for-10 from 3. This led to 48 total points from the Gators in the second half compared to the Cavaliers 34. 

Clayton Jr., Condon Dominate Second Half

Combined, the duo of Clayton Jr. and Condon accounted for 33 of the Gators' 48 second-half points.

For Clayton Jr., he was red-hot in the second half, scoring 18 points. He connected on seven of his nine shots and rained in three triples along the way in 18 minutes of action. Moreover, he finished with 27 points on 10-19 shooting in this one and five-for-12 from deep. 

Condon had a solid last 20 minutes against Virginia as well. He was five-for-six from the field and made his one 3-point attempt in the second half, giving him 15 points. He also brought down five rebounds. The big man, behind this second-half charge, ended with 19 points on seven-for-eight shooting while also grabbing eight boards and dishing out two assists. 

What’s Next

The next time the Gators will take the court will be on the 14th against Arizona State in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event. This game is scheduled for a 3:30 pm tipoff on SEC Network.