With 20 seconds remaining, Tyrese Samuel, a graduate transfer forward, scored a putback dunk and offensive rebound to give Florida the breathing room it needed and the Gators defeated East Carolina 70-65 to win their third straight game at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida, on Thursday night. Although the Gators gave the Pirates plenty of chances to steal this neutral-site game, junior guard Walter Clayton Jr., the local kid who led Bartow High to consecutive state championships and became a father on Monday, led all scorers with 20 of his 22 points in the first half of his homecoming. UF played giveaway for the duration of the game despite having leads of 11 late in the first half and 9 early in the second.
Gators defeated East Carolina, the last time on a driving layup by Bobby Pettiford Jr. with 1:06 remaining. The Gators shot just 34.5 percent during that time. Will Richard missed a three-pointer for Florida, but the rebound went out on ECU for a shot-clock reset, giving the Gators possession of the ball. Clayton attempted a late-clock 3-pointer, but Samuel gathered the board, got into traffic, and dunked the ball to give the team a two-possession lead, 67-63, with 20 seconds remaining. Freshman center Alex Condon rebounded a 3-point attempt that went wrong for the Pirates, and he made one of two free throws to seal the five-point victory. Clayton completed his 10 of 16 fromZyon Pullin, the backup point guard, played 29 minutes off the bench and finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Florida outscored East Carolina 51-32 on the glass, including 21-10 on the offensive end, but only made two of its final ten field goal attempts and went 12 of 22 from the free-throw line. Ezra Ausar led ECU with 14 points, while Brandon Johnson added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The UF players have stated that they cannot go 6-0 in December without first going 3-0. The Gators’ NCAA Evaluation Tool rating, which started the day at No. 43, should rise somewhat after their second straight neutral-site victory—especially against a team that is ranked lower. More importantly, the squad performed admirably once more while playing a full complement of rotational players in just its third game of the season.
