Clayton scores 19 and No. 18 Florida uses 27-0 run to pull away to 88-51 victory over Wichita State

0:40

Highlight: UF marks eighth straight win with blowout of Wichita State

The No. 18 Gators use a 27-0 run spanning the two halves -- 16-0 to end the first, 11-0 to start the second -- to stun the Shockers, 88-51, in the ESPN Events Invitational champ game.

Nov 29, 2024, 10:40 pm

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- — Walter Clayton Jr scored 19 points and Alex Condon had 17 points and nine rebounds to help No. 18 Florida overwhelm Wichita State 88-51 Friday in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational at Disney World.

Rueben Chinyelu keyed a strong defensive performance and finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Gators (8-0), who led by as many as 48 after breaking it open with a 27-0 run that began over the last seven-plus minutes of the first half.

Matej Bosnjak came off the bench to lead Wichita State (6-1) with 11 points. Shockers top scorer Justin Hill, however, was limited to four on 2 for 12 shooting.

Takeaways

Florida: The Gators are off to an 8-0 start for the first time since 2009. They've won each of their games by double-digits.

Wichita State: The Shockers suffered their first loss after reaching the title game of this tournament with a 68-66 overtime victory over Minnesota. They fell to 0-3 all-time against Florida.

Key moment

Bosnjak made two free throws to trim Wichita State's deficit to 21-18 with 7:26 remaining in the first half. The Shockers didn't score again until Bosnjak made a short jumper just over three minutes in the second half. By that time, Florida had built its lead to 48-18, scoring the last 16 before the break and first 11 after.

Key stats

The Gators set the tone defensively with four blocks in the first seven minutes. Wichita shot 18.8 percent (6-32) in the first half and 29.8 percent for the game. Florida made 14 3-pointers and held the Shockers to 5-of-22 shooting beyond the arc.

Up next

Both teams next play on Wednesday, with Florida hosting Virginia and Wichita State facing Alcorn State at home.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball