NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points, and No. 4 Florida pulled away from No. 5 Alabama for a 104-82 victory in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Alijah Martin and Will Richard each had 16 points for the Gators (29-4) in their fifth consecutive win.
Next up for Florida is Sunday’s SEC championship game against No. 8 Tennessee, which beat No. 3 Auburn 70-65 in the first semifinal.
The second-seeded Gators led the Crimson Tide 47-45 after a first half that featured 10 lead changes. But Clayton and company really turned up their play down the stretch.
Chris Youngblood had 14 points for third-seeded Alabama (25-8). Clifford Omoruyi and Mouhamed Dioubate each had 12.
Clayton went 6 for 11 from 3-point range. The senior guard added six assists.
Takeaways
Alabama: The loss derailed the Crimson Tide’s hope of winning the program’s third SEC tournament title in the last five seasons. With 10 wins over AP Top 25 opponents this season, a program record for most in a single season, Alabama has a strong case for a good seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida: The Gators were impressive in the defensive end, holding the high-scoring Crimson Tide to just 82 points. Entering Saturday, Alabama had scored 90 points or more in 18 games this season, the most in Division I.
Key moment
Richard hit a 3-pointer with 9:24 remaining in the second half to give Florida a 21-point lead and put the game out of reach for Alabama.
Key stat
After a tightly contested first half, Florida outscored the Crimson Tide 57-37 over the final 20 minutes.
Up next
Florida and Tennessee split the two-game season series, with both teams winning on their home courts. The Crimson Tide wait to learn the team’s first opponent in the NCAA tourney.
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