Walter Clayton Jr. scored 25 points and unbeaten No. 9 Florida rode early 3-point shooting to knock off Arizona State 83-66 in a Holiday Hoopsgiving game in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
Will Richard added 16 points and Alijah Martin 15 as the Gators (10-0) tied the second-best start in program history. They also went 10-0 in 1951-52.
Adam Miller led the Sun Devils (8-2) with 18 points, and Jay Quaintance netted 14 to go with eight rebounds and four steals. Basheer Jihad chipped in 13 points.
Down nine points at the break, Arizona State moved back within eight when Miller hit a 3-pointer two minutes into the second half. But Clayton hit a trey to start a 7-0 run, and a later Gators 11-0 run, with five players contributing points, pushed the lead to 24.
Florida shot 47.8 percent from the field and 10 of 30 on 3-pointers, marking the sixth time in its last seven games that the team has hit double figures in treys. The Gators survived a 14-turnover game in part by outrebounding the Sun Devils 47-27.
Arizona State made 37.1 percent of its shots and 7 of 25 from long range.
Florida built a 41-32 lead at halftime thanks largely to its 3-point shooting.
The Gators trailed by two after about the first four minutes before Clayton and Richard fueled a 16-2 run.
Martin hit a trey and Richard nailed two to get the burst started. Clayton picked up assists on the first two, and his block on the defensive end led to the third on a fast break. He then netted a 3-pointer of his own to push Florida’s lead to 10 at 18-8.
Shawn Phillips Jr.’s dunk interrupted the run, but Sam Alexis dunked and Richard added a fast-break layup for a 22-10 lead with 11:31 to play in the half.
Clayton and Richard scored 12 points apiece in the half and, while Quaintance led Arizona State with eight.
–Field Level Media
