Rueben Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh had double-doubles and No. 2 Florida used a second-half surge to pull away from LSU 79-65 on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
Chinyelu had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Haugh had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Alijah Martin scored 14, Walter Clayton Jr. had 13 and Denzel Aberdeen offered 11 as the Gators (24-3, 11-3 SEC) won their sixth consecutive game after having a 48-28 scoring advantage in the second half.
Robert Miller III had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Curtis Givens III scored 11 and Mike Williams III had 10 to lead the Tigers (14-13, 3-11).
LSU finished the first half with a 22-2 run to take a 37-31 halftime lead and Givens scored five points as the Tigers pushed the lead to eight points early in the second half. Chinyelu scored seven points in a 15-2 run that gave the Gators a 53-48 lead.
Corey Chest answered with a jumper for LSU, but consecutive field goals by Haugh helped Florida push the lead back to eight. Daimion Collins made consecutive baskets and the Tigers got within four points twice before Martin had a three-point play and a 3-pointer to start a 14-0 run that expanded the lead to 77-59 with 2:22 remaining.
Martin scored five points, Chinyelu made two layups and three teammates scored as Florida raced to an 18-4 lead. Williams made a 3-pointer and Vyctorius Miller converted a three-point play to help LSU close within 21-12.
Aberdeen answered with a jumper and Chinyelu added two baskets to help the Gators expand the lead to 14 points. Givens made a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run that included seven points from Williams and pulled the Tigers even at 29-all.
Aberdeen’s jumper broke the tie and ended a field-goal drought of nearly five minutes for Florida, but Dji Bailey’s 3-pointer gave LSU its first lead and the Tigers finished with an 8-0 run to grab a 37-31 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
