By Ken Cross
SAN ANTONIO—The Florida Gators scored another dramatic come-from-behind victory in their 65-63 win over the Houston Cougars in Monday evening’s NCAA Championship. Houston’s number one option was immediately stopping Florida point guard Walter Clayton, Jr. from scoring. Still, as the game ran into its final minutes, Clayton again produced in the clutch of the Gators’ third national championship.
Of course, he became a top scorer in college basketball as a playmaker, and his ability to get teammates involved by creating driving lanes and open three-point opportunities for his teammates as the Gators shot 36 percent from three this season.
“They did what they always do,” Coach Todd Golden said of his Gators. “They stepped up. Alijah hit those big free throws. I thought he guarded really well all night. I thought Walter’s defense in the second half was great. They just found a way to win the ballgame.”
Clayton was a key part of Florida’s defense and his close out in the clutch could be the top highlight in a matchup between two of the most talented and dynamic teams who have played on college basketball’s Monday night stage.
Trailing 65-63 with 19 seconds remaining, Houston had one last chance as LJ Cryer was the first option on the right wing coming out of a time out. He reversed his pass to Sharp who ran out of the paint on a cut and he caught the ball at the top of the key.
Clayton sprinted towards him as Sharp leaped for the shot. Clayton took away his potential game-winner on a literal blitz and Sharp had to drop the ball in mid-air or be called for walking. Alex Condon hit the ground and knocked the ball away and time ran out, so the Gators captured the title.
“We work on it in practice, closing out, jumping to the side so you don’t foul the shooter,” Clayton explained. “He pump faked, threw the ball down, ended up being a good play.”
Sharp shot 40.7 percent for the season from three, but Clayton’s close out allowed Florida’s monumental comeback. In fact, the game-winning play could be the initial highlight in describing this game.
The Cougars had kept Clayton from, scoring for nearly 30 minutes although the first team, all-America point guard was involved when he immediately fed post Alex Condon with two assists while center Micah Handlogten also scored on his third assist for an 8-6 lead with 15:37 remaining in the first half..
“I understand that if it ain’t my night, somebody is going to pick me up,” said Clayton. “We understand we all just picking each other up throughout the year, man. We been doing that all the year.”
In the first half, Houston forced nine of the Gators’ 13 turnovers and took their biggest lead at 42-30 with 16:24 left when J’Wan Roberts made an 8-footer in the paint.
Houston led the game for 31 minutes as the Cougars out-played Florida for most of the evening; however, the Gators had used their defense to keep within striking distance as Florida turned the Cougars over five times in that last 2:05.
“We had a good plan,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. “We just didn’t score it well enough to win. We played it well enough to be in a position to win. At the end you’ve got to get a shot. Got to do better than that.”
Clayton was also able to get Will RIchard involved as Richard nailed four threes and scored 14 of his 18 points, including his four three-pointers, in the opening 20 minutes. He hit three of those triples to tie the game at 21 before LJ Cryer and Mylik Wilson buried their own threes to give Houston a 29-21 lead with 5:02 remaining in the first half.
“It’s just a testament to who we are as a team,” said Richard. “I feel like we’re going to fight until the end and do whatever it takes to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Clayton finally was able to recapture his role as a scorer with an and-one on a layup that tied the game at 48-48 with 7:54 to play. He duplicated that scene just 52 seconds later and tied the score at 51. Then, Clayton’s clutch three with 3:14 remaining tied the game 60-60 and gave the Gators the chance for the photo finish.
The Lake Wales, Florida, native averaged 21.8 points in the Gators’ nine post season games while shooting 45.8 percent from three-point range which included 3.7 made threes per game.
“I do think what separates us and has separated us all season along with our team talent – how our guys have played together and for each other all year,” said Golden. “Because of that, we can call each other national champions for the rest of our lives.”
Florida’s win was the largest comeback in a title game since Kansas rallied from a 16-point deficit to North Carolina in 2022.