By Kenneth Cross
LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden has turned into one of the better-known artisans of offense in the coaching circles, but in Thursday evening’s 70-65 win over East Carolina, the Gators’ defense set the tone in allowing them to pull out the victory.
Florida held ECU to 39.7 percent for the game, but the Gators turned their defense up to an even higher level in the second half. ECU shot only 35.1 percent in the second 20 minutes where they were 3-of-10 from behind the three-point arc.
“We didn’t fold, we didn’t point fingers, we didn’t have guys trying to play hero ball,” explained Golden. “The defensive end is what kept us with the lead.”
Florida held the Pirates to 3-of-16 from the floor over the last 7:13, but ECU’s defense also kept the game interesting in holding Florida to two field goals in its last 11 attempts.
After Gators guard Zyon Pullin scored on a layup to give Florida a 61-53 lead with 7:50 to play, Pirates guard RJ Felton completed an and-one; then, small forward Jaden Walker nailed a deep triple off of the right baseline to cut UF’s lead to 61-59 with 5:26 remaining.
Golden gave East Carolina head coach Mike Schwartz and the defense credit for how the Pirates were able to stay in the game.
“I think it was more that they load up so hard to keep you on one side of the floor and force baseline penetration,” commented Golden on ECU’s defensive philosophy. “Then they do a really good job on the backside of just pre-rotating and being there to help.”
Golden also noted that East Carolina took away his team’s skip passes, which the Gators coaches thought would be more of a positive option, based on their study.
“Maybe a little bit careless, but I thought they did a good job of just taking away the paint and jamming it up on us,” analyzed Golden. “We just didn’t do a good enough job of banging shots to make them extend on us.”
Florida outrebounded East Carolina, 51-32, while scoring 21 points on 16 offensive boards. This coincided with 11 points off of 12 Pirates turnovers.
Clayton’s Firepower Enables Gators:
Point guard Walter Clayton played at a high level early as he scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and gave the Gators a series of 10-point leads before they led, 37-30, at the break.
“First half, I felt good out there,” explained Clayton. “My teammates were finding me so give them credit.”
Clayton scored 10 consecutive points in the first 3:48 of the game as he completed the old-school three-pointer with a layup and a free throw to give the Gators a 12-8 lead with 16:12 remaining.
“He’s the kind of guy as a coach that gives you confidence when you are on the floor and you have guys that they believe, they trust, and they don’t get rattled,” said Golden.
Gators in the Clutch:
Florida took a 55-46 lead with 10:16 remaining when Pullin scored on a layup as he was in transition off of an ECU turnover. The feeling that the game wasn’t over at that point was paramount even with the 7-0 run pushing the Gators’ lead.
This is a different style of basketball under Schwartz as the talent level has risen and East Carolina is a more physical team that plays with much more confidence.
The Gators were able to ward off three Pirate runs in the later part of the second half as Felton played a key role in those.
Tyrese Samuel closed the game with 23 seconds remaining as his dunk off of a Clayton miss gave Florida a 69-65 advantage.
“I thought in the last four minutes, we did a really good job of gathering ourselves and executing,” explained Golden. “I think as our program continues to mature, these are the types of wins that build character. They build trust and they build belief.”