JACKSONVILLE | Hearts were heavy and tributes abounded on Monday at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena for the late Amir Abdur-Rahim, the University of South Florida basketball coach who passed away suddenly on Oct. 25 during a medical procedure in Tampa.
But there was an opening basketball game to be played and the Bulls knew what their coach would have wanted: play hard.
That they did and USF jumped on the 21st-ranked Florida Gators early and led by 13 points with 6:13 left in the first half.
However, UF’s Walter Clayton Jr., and Will Richard, the combination that coach Todd Golden hopes will have many more nights like this, combined for 54 points on 20 of 32 shooting to lead the Gators to a 98-83 victory in front of 5,764 in the opening college basketball game of the 2024-25 season.
USF came at the Gators in waves
Eight USF players scored during a 23-7 USF run in the first half that erased a 16-13 Florida lead and turned into a 36-23 edge for the Bulls on Jayden Reid’s transition 3-pointer.
But Clayton (29 points) answered with a jumper in the paint and Florida outscored the Bulls 16-4 over the balance of the first half to close the gap to 40-39 at the break. Richard (25 points) scored nine of the points during that run.
Both teams jockeyed for position in the early stages of the second half and De’Ante Green hit a 3-pointer for the Bulls to give them their last lead of the night, 60-59, with 12:45 left — the 12th lead change of the night.
It was all Gators after that. Florida went on 17-4 run, including 11 of 11 free throws, as they drove to the basket relentlessly and eventually caused USF starters Jamille Reynolds (a team-high 17 points) and Brandon Stroud to foul out.
![South Florida Bulls guard Brandon Stroud (5) and Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh (10) wrestle for the ball during the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball matchup Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Florida defeated South Florida 98-83. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/PS6wUKtdj78N0p5_o.O9Pw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOQ--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-florida-times-union/afc8af17ac2000aa3db88f4369d88209)
Todd Golden praised his team’s comeback
Golden didn’t like getting behind by double digits.
He loved the response.
“They put pressure on us in the first half and I did not think we handled it well,” he said. “Part of it is just kind of figuring out, being out in a real game for the first time with some new guys. I was proud of the way we regrouped. A weaker-minded team might not be able to come back the way we did but I credit South Florida for the way they played offensively.”
Alex Condon and Alijah Martin added 13 points each for UF. Six players had at least four rebounds and the Gators had only 10 turnovers.
Florida, Jacksonville paid tribute to USF coach
Abdur-Rahim’s death sent shock waves through college basketball, coming at the age of 43 and after he led Kennesaw to an ASUN title and NCAA berth, then went to USF and guided the Bulls to a school-record 25 victories last season.
The Florida players wore T-shirts with Abdur-Rahim’s name on the back, Golden and the Gator coaches had his initials, “AAR” on their outerwear and the Jacksonville Sports Foundation, which sponsored the game, had a moment of silence before tipoff.
Ben Fletcher, who was named to replace Abdur-Rahim, said the team’s best tribute to their coach was to get on the basketball court last week for an exhibition game against Edward Waters University, a Jacksonville NCAA Division II team, and to give the Gators all they could handle for as long as they could.
![South Florida Bulls interim head coach Ben Fletcher reacts to a a three-point basket score during the first half of an NCAA men’s basketball matchup Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/YO3hjGm2dzixY.m1Oycu4g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-florida-times-union/c206d694defa7b35c3950bd97726f08f)
“I’m proud of their effort,” he said. “We played hard collectively, and we’ll always start with that. We did a really good job controlling our composure. We played a solid game for about 25 minutes but we all got blind-sided with about a four-minute spurt [by the Gators] and it was hard to recover. Kudos to them for imposing their will.”
Fletcher said the coaching staff and administration were not going to make the players get back on the court until they were ready, even if it meant canceling games.
He said they were ready sooner than anyone thought.
“They’re a resilient bunch. We wanted to respect those guys,” he said. “We were not going to take the floor until we knew they wanted to do. We wanted to make sure they had the resources they needed to get better. It was a decision by them. They wanted to practice, it was a collective decision to play in the exhibition game and tonight.”
“We played hard for each other,” said Know, who had 14 points. “We got it out of the way with the exhibition, got all the emotions out.”
Golden said it was a tribute to the USF team and Abdur-Rahim’s memory to watch them play as spirited as they did.
“I give a lot of credit to this South Florida team and their program, obviously playing under some really difficult circumstances,” he said. “I thought coach Fletcher and his staff did an incredible job preparing them for tonight. That’s a really good team and they seem to enjoy playing together. I saw a lot of care amongst their team.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: No. 21 Florida Gators get hot in second half to beat South Florida Bulls
