Walter Clayton, Jr. put on a show for the audience in Brooklyn to lead Florida past Pitt, 86-71, Wednesday night. The Gators improved to 4-1 on the season and will take on No. 13 Baylor in the tournament championship Friday afternoon.
Florida started slowly, allowing the Panthers to score the first seven points of the contest before a Tyrese Samuel layup put the Gators on the scoreboard. Pitt led by as many as none points with 12:14 to play, but Florida continues to cut into the deficit as the half moved along. Clayton’s layup with 9:58 left tied the game at 20. From there it was a back and forth contest until the final minute where a Clayton layup and a Thomas Haugh triple had the Gators leading by five going into the halftime break.
TOUCHDOWN TOMMY!!!!! #GoGators | đź’» https://t.co/DyXoO4dcS4 pic.twitter.com/cx7wcw4nH0
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 23, 2023
Pitt quickly tied things up in the second half as Florida struggled to find the basket early on. With the game tied at 39, Clayton finally put the Gators on the scoreboard in the half with a basket. The next possession, Pitt took the lead on a three-pointer by Guillermo Diaz Graham. From there, Florida took over. The Gators led by as many as 15 points multiple times over the final eight minutes, but they never let the lead get cut to less than eleven over that stretch.
Clayton led all scorers with 28 points, which included going 6-6 from 3-point range. Samuel added 20 points (9-11 FG) and 10 rebounds. Alex Condon (11) and Zyon Pullin (10) also finished in double digits for the Gators.
Two @GatorsMBK with 20 points (Clayton, Samuel) for the first time since 2/26/22 at Georgia (Fleming 27, Appleby 21).
— Denver Parler (@denverparler) November 23, 2023
Clayton’s 6 3s are the most by a Gator vs a power conference opponent since Myreon Jones hit 7 on 2/9/22 vs. Georgia.
For the game, Florida shot 47% but held Pitt to just 35% from the field. The Gators were outrebounded 46-37 but had assists on 24 of their 31 made buckets.
Florida will take on No. 13 Baylor in the tournament title game Friday. The Bears beat Oregon State 88-72 in the NIT opener Wednesday. Baylor is 5-0 on the season. The game is scheduled for 5:00 PM and will be aired live on ESPN.