No. 13 Florida cruises past Virginia for 9-0 start

Walter Clayton Jr. scored 27 points as No. 13 Florida remained undefeated with an 87-69 victory over Virginia in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night in Gainesville, Fla.Alex Condon contributed 19 points and eight rebounds while Alijah Martin added 16 points for the Gators (9-0), who have won each of their games by at least 13 points.Denzel Aberdeen came off the bench to score 12 points for Florida, which is off to its best start since the 2005-06 season when it won its first 17 games and captured the NCAA championship.San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders scored a career-high 19 points and Isaac McKneely added 12 points, all on treys, for Virginia (5-3).The Gators frustrated the Cavaliers with their depth, quickness and disruptive defense as they forced 15 turnovers while committing just six. Florida outscored Virginia on points off those mistakes 20-4.In the opening minute of the second half, a 3-pointer by Saunders cut the Gators’ lead to 39-38. But after that, it was all Florida.Clayton scored 10 points in the first 6:05 of the half as the Gators stretched their lead to 54-43.Then during a span of less than a minute, Condon drained a 3-pointer, made a steal and hit a free throw and a layup as Florida increased its edge to 60-45.After that, the Gators stretched their advantage to 20 points on three occasions.