Gators use 20-0 second-half run to bury Merrimack

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Whatever ailed the Florida Gators during last week’s loss at Wake Forest seemed still to be dogging them when they took the floor Tuesday night against Merrimack College.

UF fell back by 10 twice in the first half and seemed both confused and frustrated facing the Warriors’ unique and disciplined 2-3 tandem zone defense.

“It was pretty annoying,” Gators guard Walter Clayton said.

But effective for the visitors, yet only for so long. Eventually, the Gators figured some things out – not just tactically, but intangibly – and what was a very close game early in the second half turned dramatically over a nearly eight-minute run that featured 20 consecutive points for the home team and eventually a cushy 77-57 victory at Exactech Arena/O’Connell Center.

Clayton, the transfer from Iona, scored a game-high 26 points, all but five coming in the second half. Freshman center Alex Condon came off the bench to post his first career double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, the most boards by a UF rookie in 19 years. Forward Tyrese Samuel and point guard Zyon Pullin, a pair of grad transfers, had 11 and 10 points, respectively, while freshman forward Thomas Haugh grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Gators (5-3), who were home for the first time in nearly three weeks and now embark on a run of three straight neutral-site games before next playing at home Dec. 22.

Todd Golden was pleased enough with the final result, but not with how the night played out; especially the first half and then some. “It’s a tricky one, man. We try to be super, super consistent with our effort and our intent, regardless of our opponent. I didn’t think we were good enough that way for the first 25 minutes of the game or whatever it was,” Golden said. “I think Merrimack’s a pretty good team, in terms of what they do, and they have an identity. They’re well coached, they have a plan and we obviously didn’t execute very well at all in the first half and they outplayed us.”

The Warriors (4-6) scored 12 straight points to take an 18-8 lead about eight minutes in. The margin was the same with eight minutes to play in the period, as the Gators flailed away with misses and turnovers against the zone, before starting to chip away, little by little, and twice going up by a point.

UF trailed 31-30 at the break.

“We knew we’re better than a one-point deficit at the half,” Condon said. It wasn’t because Merrimack was red-hot from the floor (37 percent in the first period) or raining a storm of 3s (just 3 of 12) or working UF on the glass (Gators had a 20-18 edge).

Said Golden: “It’s not a comfortable zone to go against.”

The start to the second half was a little bit of the same. Though Clayton scored the first two baskets out of the locker on a couple hard, aggressive drives to the rim, the Warriors answered with six straight points to go back up by three. That was about the time Golden had some words during a timeout.

“He was just getting on us just because we were playing with no energy and [not doing] some of the things we talked about before the game,” Clayton said. “We had a great scouting report. We had a great plan. It was just on us to execute.”

And that was about when the execution began.

Center Alex Condon (21) was at his active and energetic best against the Warriors. The ensuing 26-2 run included 20 consecutive points that turned Merrimack’s 37-34 advantage into a 60-39 deficit over just under eight minutes.

Along the way, it was Pullin doing damage inside and Clayton hitting from inside and outside (he was 4-for-7 from the arc). Samuel got into the act in the low post, while Condon and Haugh were relentless on the glass, combining for 14 offensive rebounds that helped the Gators to 25 second-chance points (17 in the second half).

The Warriors, meanwhile, shot just 30 percent after halftime and missed all 12 of their 3s (and their last 17 of the game). The Gators dominated the glass 57-33, including 24-11 on the offensive end, and turned the ball over just four times after halftime.

The result was a final score more aligned with internal pre-game expectations. Condon, in fact, leaked a little something about those expectations, going off-script when asked about his impressive freshman numbers, after he became the first UF freshman to snare at least 16 rebounds since Al Horford did it against Alabama in 2004.

“I don’t really care about my stats,” Condon said. “I just want to see us get our winning record back [on track]. Try and go without losing again in December. That’s our goal.” It’s an ambitious goal – they’re 1-0 on that front – and if accomplished would go along way toward taking this team where it wants to go.”

“The second half rolled around and I thought we did a better job playing with more emotion, playing with more effort, getting on the glass, controlling what we could control,” Golden said. “We did a better job taking care of the ball, imposing our will on them and just kind of reminding our team that, ‘Hey, we have the capacity to be good, but we ain’t there yet.’ We got a lot of growth to do. The last 15 minutes of the game is more a representation of what I want our team to be.”