ChompTalk.com

Despite losing talented big man Alex Condon in the first minute of Tuesday night’s game, the No. 3 Florida Gators defeated No. 22 Mississippi State, 81-68 in Starkville before 9,401 fans.

Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen led Florida with twenty points while Walter Clayton added 19. The front court duo of Thomas Haugh (16) and Rueben Chinyelu (10) combined for 26 more without Condon, who suffered a lower leg injury early and missed the remainder of the game. After the game, head coach Todd Golden stated, “good news on the X-Ray, it came back clean. At this time, we think it’s a low ankle sprain, which is obviously better than a high ankle sprain, or anything more serious.”

Florida trailed by one entering halftime, but came out of the break on fire. The Gators went on a 17-0 run to put this one away early.

Overall, the Gators shot 46% from the field and made 14 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

Condon’s absence was felt on the glass, however, as the Bulldogs outrebounded Florida 43-32.

The Gators improved to 21-3 overall and 8-3 in SEC play. Florida will take on South Carolina Saturday night in Gainesville at 8:30 PM. The Gamecocks are 10-13 overall but 0-10 in conference play. Florida squeaked out a 70-69 win over USC when they played in Columbia in January.