No. 6 Florida hands No. 1 Auburn 2nd loss of season

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 19 points and Alex Condon added 17 as No. 6 Florida rallied from an early deficit and beat No. 1 Auburn 90-81 Saturday, ending the Tigers' 14-game winning streak.

Florida (20-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference), down by 10 points early, built a 10-point advantage by the end of the first half and held off Auburn in the second half for its second victory over a top-ranked team this season. Florida beat then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.

The Gators shot 13 for 33 from 3-point range, while Auburn shot 32% from long distance, finishing 7 for 22.

Tigers leading scorer Johni Broome, a fifth-year senior and preseason Associated Press All-American who is considered a contender for Player of the Year, had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn (21-2, 9-1) had its nine-game conference winning streak halted.

Miles Kelly scored 22 points, Tahaad Pettiford added 14 and Chaney Johnson 13 for the Tigers.

Takeaways

Florida: The victory is a signature road win for Todd Golden, whose Gators hadn’t played their best away from Gainesville this season.

Auburn: The Tigers have been excellent on defense at home, but struggled to slow down the Gators’ offensive balance.

Key moment

Florida was down by six points with 5:58 left in the first half before going on a 14-2 run and taking control of the game. The Gators scored 23 of the final 30 points before halftime.

Key stat

Florida hit 13 3-pointers in the win. The Gators had averaged 7.7 3s over their last three games — victories over Vanderbilt and Georgia and a loss at Tennessee.

Up next

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday. Florida travels to No. 22 Mississippi State. Auburn is at Vanderbilt.