By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 20 of his 34 points in the second half, leading the Florida Gators to a 79-73 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the opening game of the NCAA Final Four on Saturday at the Alamodome.

Flashing moves that could translate to a lucrative career in the NBA, Clayton hit 11 of 18 shots from the field and five of eight from beyond the 3-point arc. In the second half, he knocked down six field goals, including three from distance.

As a result, the Gators (35-4) won their 11th straight game and moved into the NCAA tournament finals on Monday. Seeking the third championship in school history, they’ll play either the Houston Cougars or the Duke Blue Devils.

The Cougars, champions from the Big 12, will meet the Atlantic Coast Conference titlist Blue Devils later Saturday night.

Rallying to overcome a nine-point, second-half deficit, the Gators sent home the Tigers (32-6) in a battle of Southeastern Conference powers. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 18 points to lead the Tigers.

All-American Johni Broome finished with 15 points, but was held to only three in the second half.

A key sequence for Florida came early in the second half when the Gators constructed an 11-0 run to take a 51-49 lead. Highlights included three-point buckets by Clayton and guard Alijah Martin, followed by a Clayton baseline drive.

Martin, a transfer from Florida Atlantic University, scored 17 points in the victory.

First half

Trailing by one point midway through the first half, the Auburn Tigers turned it on. They outscored the Florida Gators 24-15 in the last 10 minutes to take a 46-38 lead into intermission.

Tigers guards Denver Jones and Miles Kelly ignited the run. First, Jones drove into the paint and scored. Kelly followed with his own drive through traffic and a layup, and then a three.

Freshman Tahaad Pettiford, one of Auburn’s standouts in the tournament, took it inside for a bucket and then knocked down three free throws after he was fouled outside the arc.

When Broome wheeled inside to score at 2:52, the Tigers had opened a 38-29 advantage. The Gators never got closer than six the rest of the say.

Broome, who tweaked a knee and an elbow last Sunday against Michigan State, didn’t practice for a few days earlier this week. But he didn’t seem bothered at all bothered, as the 6-10 forward had 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the half.

Also for the Tigers, Kelly and Chad Baker-Mazara scored eight points apiece, and both knocked down a couple of threes. The Auburn backcourt of Denver Jones, Kelly and Baker-Mazara was also solid in subtle ways. They orchestrated an offense that turned it over only one time.

Meanwhile, the Tigers went to work inside, outscoring the Gators 26-14 in the paint.

All-American Walter Clayton Jr. had the hot hand for Florida, scoring inside and outside and finishing the half with 14 points. He hit five of nine afield and two of four from beyond the arc. Guard Alijah Martin also scored 10.

Florida big men weren’t much of a factor. Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Thomas Haugh and Micah Handlogten combined for eight points.

Records

Florida 35-4
Auburn 32-6

Coming up

Houston vs. Duke, NCAA semifinal, later tonight

Notable

Clayton scored 17 of his 30 points late in the second half last Saturday as the Gators rallied past the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Elite Eight at San Francisco.

Quotable

“I thought Auburn played great in the first half,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “We did some nice things, but we did not have an answer for their physicality in the paint. I think they were 13 of 18 from two. Our game plan, we weren’t executing it very well and it wasn’t working very well.

“The main message at halftime was, ‘We have to get back to doing what we do,’ in a positive way … I thought we did a great job in the second half defending and rebounding. We ended up plus nine on the glass. We were down one at halftime …

“We started getting out in transition a little bit, seeing the ball go through the basket. We obviously played a really, really good second half. I think it starts with our perimeter. Walt, Will (Richard) and Alijah, three senior leaders, guys who have been through the fire.”

Starters

Starters for Florida: Walter Clayton, Jr., Will Richard, Rueben Chinyelu, Alijah Martin, Alex Condon. For Auburn: Denver Jones, Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly, Dylan Cardwell.