No. 6 Florida Rallies Past Vanderbilt 86-75 Despite Injuries

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sixth-ranked Florida overcame the absence of its leading scorer and a shaky first half to defeat Vanderbilt 86-75 Tuesday night at the O’Connell Center. The Gators improved to 19-3 overall and 6-3 in the Southeastern Conference, while Vanderbilt dropped to 16-6 and 4-5 in league play.

Senior guard Will Richard led Florida with 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half. Sophomore forward Alex Condon added 19 points and nine rebounds, and junior point guard Denzel Aberdeen, making his first career start, contributed 13 points and three assists. The Gators played without starting point guard Walter Clayton Jr., who sat out with an ankle injury, and starting guard Alijah Martin, who was limited by a hip injury.

Vanderbilt freshman guard Jason Edwards scored a team-high 20 points, while Devin McGlockton added 14 points and eight rebounds. The Commodores remained winless on the road in conference play and have now lost three of their last four games.

The game was tight throughout the first half, with 11 ties and eight lead changes. Vanderbilt took a 36-35 lead into halftime, but Florida found its rhythm in the second half, shooting 64.3% from the field and 63.6% from 3-point range. A pivotal 8-0 run midway through the second half, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Urban Klavzar, gave the Gators a 65-54 lead with 7:41 remaining.

“We knew we had to step up with Walter out,” Richard said. “The bench came through big, especially Urban. He gave us the boost we needed.”

The Commodores struggled to maintain momentum, with their largest lead being just four points. Florida’s defense held Vanderbilt to 40.7% shooting in the second half and capitalized on 14 turnovers.

“We’re growing as a team,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “Tonight showed a lot of resilience. We had guys step up in big moments.”

Florida next travels to face No. 1 Auburn on Saturday, while Vanderbilt returns home to host Texas on the same day.