Haugh, Clayton Jr. Combine for 50, Gators Use Late Surge to Advance to Final Four

SAN FRANCISCO-- A tightly contested contest for most of Saturday's Elite Eight matchup against Texas Tech, the Florida Gators almost saw its season end after the Red Raiders used a 12-2 run halfway through the second half to take a 67-57 lead.

Rather than backing down as Florida was in the midst of its largest deficit of the NCAA Tournament, the Gators turned to All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. while continuing to rely on consistent play from forward Thomas Haugh.

Down 71-61 with 5:24 left, Clayton Jr. hit his first 3-pointer of the night before adding a layup two minutes later to cut Texas Tech's lead to seven. From there, Haugh, who had sparked Florida's offense most of the evening, hit a pair of 3-pointers to make the score 75-72 with 2:27 left.

And Clayton Jr. answered.

A step-back 3-pointer with 1:47 left tied the game, and a turnaround 3-pointer a possession later gave Florida a 78-77 lead, its first lead in nearly 16 minutes, as the Gators used an 18-4 run over the final three minutes to advance to its first Final Four in 11 years.

"There's not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment," head coach Todd Golden said. "As he said, I think he said he
blacked out or whatever, he doesn't get too high or too low. He does a great job controlling his emotions."

Clayton Jr. finished with 30 points, his second 30-point game of the year, after a pair of free throws to ice the game, and Haugh finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

"At the end of the day, great teams are as good as their players lead them," head coach Todd Golden said. "Walter has done a great job all year that way. And Tommy played his tail off for us across
every game this season.

The game came down to the final three minutes, but Texas Tech controlled most of the previous 37 minutes.

Known for its defensive improvement from last season the Gators struggled to stop the Red Raiders' early 3-point shooting as the Red Raiders started 6-for-7 from deep in the game's first 10 minutes.

Additionally, Texas Tech found offensive domination from Darrion Williams, who had 23 points and a team-high three 3-points, and Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

"I thought they played a great game today," Golden said. "Controlled different facets of the game that we usually do. They had our backs against the wall."

Meanwhile, turnover issues continued to plague the Gators with 12 turnovers, which marked its fourth-straight game with double-digit turnovers and led to 22 points for Texas Tech.

However, the Gators took advantage of timely shots and consistent free throw shooting. Florida shot 25-for-27 from the charity strike including a perfect 6-for-6 in the game's final minute. Clayton Jr., himself, went 13-for-14, which accounted for the second-most makes and attempts in a game in his career.

"That was the part that, honestly, I was disappointed in, was just that he got to the free-throw
line so much," Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland said.

Alijah Martin (10 points) and Will Richard (Six points) each added a pair, too, clinching Florida's sixth Final Four appearance in program history.

Next Up

The Gators advance to its first Final Four since 2014, making Golden the third head coach in program history to do so after the third-year head coach had not won a tournament game before this season.

Florida will face the winner of No. 1 Auburn-No. 2 Michigan State. Tipoff between the Tigers and Spartans is on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. with television coverage on CBS.

"Definitely going to enjoy tonight, possibly tomorrow," Clayton Jr. said. "We don't know yet. Then we'll see who we're going to play, watching the games, focus on the next one. We understand it's not over yet."

The Final Four in San Antonio will be played on April 5 with the start time to be determined.

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