No. 3 Gators ride Will Richard's hot hand past No. 12 Texas A&M

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 1, 2025

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida shooting guard Will Richard’s career night was all for naught during the Gators’ no-show at Georgia.

On Saturday night against Texas A&M, Richard’s hot hand carried his team to a much-needed bounce-back 89-70 win against the Aggies.

Richard finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting as the No. 3 Gators (25-4, 12-4 SEC) seized a commanding lead, held off an A&M rally and pulled away from the No. 12 Aggies (20-9, 9-7) to hand them their fourth straight loss.

It is the Gators first 25-win season since the 2017 Elite Eight team went 27-9.

Sophomore forwards Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon supplemented Richard, who matched senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. with back-to-back 25-point games this season.

The 6-foot-9 Haugh recorded 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Meanwhile, the 6-foot-11 Condon continued to knock off the rust he displayed at Georgia following a three-game layoff with an ankle injury, tallying 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal against A&M.

Veteran guards Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. had their moments, but also their struggles. Martin finished with 14 points, highlighted by four 3-pointers during the first half, and five rebounds, while Clayton had 10 points, three assists and three turnovers while shooting just 3 of 13 to continue a recent slump. He is 13-of-42 shooting the past three games.

Florida led 51-34, the Gators’ biggest lead, less than two minutes into the second half, but A&M responded with an 8-0 run. From there, the Aggies’ physicality and effort allowed them to eventually trim into the lead to six points three times, but never closer.

Leading 65-59 with 7:34 to go, UF began to pull away behind another 3 by Richard and consecutive dunks by Condon.

The win moved the Gators to 14-1 at home ahead of Tuesday’s visit to No. 6 Alabama, 79-76 losers Saturday at No. 5 Tennessee as the SEC’s top programs jockey for conference tournament seeding and state their cases for a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament.

The Gators trailed 16-10 early on following a jump shot by Solomon Washington. A trio of Florida 3s, including two by Haugh, began the long-range barrage.

By halftime, UF led 45-34 behind eight 3-pointers, along with 12 assists, compared with three 3s and just two assists for the Aggies. The Gators finished

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