With Boogie Fland scratched about four hours before tipoff because of an illness, Florida asked a little more from its backcourt in an exhibition against Stetson. Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavžar answered, and the Gators held on for an 85-68 win in a game that stayed tighter than expected for most of the night.
Aberdeen slid from his usual shooting guard spot to run the point, while Klavžar stepped into the starting lineup at shooting guard as Todd Golden’s first choice off the bench became a starter by necessity. The two guards carried Florida early and combined for 23 of the Gators’ 42 first-half points.
Aberdeen got Florida going right away, drilling a 3-pointer just over a minute into the game and then hitting another a few minutes later. Klavžar took a little longer to settle in, but once he did, he caught fire with three straight made field goals, including a pair from deep.
“Our starting group was pretty good, not perfect,” Golden said postgame. “A lot of things that we can kind of nitpick at, watch in film, and clearly I don't think our bench is anywhere near good enough.”
Even with those hot stretches, Florida never fully separated in the first half. The Gators went into the locker room up only 42-40, and Stetson actually shot 47% from the field to Florida’s 43% at the break.
Klavžar ended up leading all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 6-of-12 from 3-point range. He stayed aggressive after halftime, knocking down four more 3s in the second half. His final one pushed Florida ahead 80-68 with 2:55 remaining and essentially shut the door.
“We’ve been working really hard since the summer, so it’s just really, really, nice to see the ball go in,” Klavžar said postgame.
Aberdeen was right there with him, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and four made 3-pointers. His late triple with two minutes left stretched Florida’s lead to 15 and finished off an 8-0 run.
Florida also got a stronger second half from Alex Condon after a quiet opening 20 minutes. He had just 4 points on 1-of-5 shooting at halftime, but finished with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. His and-1 gave the Gators a 71-60 cushion with 7:18 left.
Senior forward Thomas Haugh added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. The SEC Preseason Player of the Year had 9 points at halftime on 3-of-6 shooting, then opened the second half with a burst. He scored five straight points, finishing a lob from Condon and then burying a corner 3 to make it 59-48 Florida.
Stetson had its own answers, mostly through Thiago Sucatzky and Alex Doyle. Sucatzky gave Florida problems all night with 18 points and a team-high six assists, including 14 points in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting. Golden pointed to the way he worked the middle pick-and-roll.
“Sucatzky did a really good job of just playing in that middle pick-and-roll and keeping us in jail. Made some really tough twos in the first half,” Golden said.
Doyle matched Sucatzky with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and he had 9 points by halftime on 3-of-5 shooting. Collin Kuhl, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Hatters.
Florida now turns from its two exhibition games to the real thing. The No.
1 Gators open the regular season against No. 14 Miami in Tampa on Nov.
“We’re worried about next Monday, a lot, just getting ready for that game,” Golden said.
In Other News...
Florida-Georgia Just Lost The Rivalry Feeling Fans Loved Most
For the first time in 31 years, the Georgia-Florida game is leaving Jacksonville, with this years meeting set for Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta because of construction at EverBank Stadium. The setup changes more than the location on the schedule. It strips away the strange, enduring charm that made this rivalry weekend feel like its own holiday, from the old tailgating scenes to the beach gatherings that have long defined the trip for fans on both sides.
The move also comes with a 50-50 ticket split between the schools, and the matchup is already mapped out to land in Tampa in 2027 before returning to Jacksonville through 2031. Even with a path back to the river city, the rotation underscores how much is lost when Florida and Georgia are not meeting in the place that gave the rivalry its distinct personality, and it has plenty of fans and former players thinking about what used to make the weekend feel bigger than just another SEC game. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Best Shot Vs Georgia Comes Down To One Brutal Test
With Florida and Georgia heading into another rivalry meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the spotlight is on a familiar kind of uncertainty for the Gators: quarterback play. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy expects No. 3 Georgia to bounce back from its recent loss, while Florida is still sorting out its own answer under center, with Jon Sumrall yet to name a starter between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. It is the kind of week where every practice rep matters and every hint from the coaches gets parsed for more than it probably should.
Georgias quarterback situation adds another layer, even if the Bulldogs appear to be in better shape overall. Kirby Smart said Gunner Stockton dealt with a shoulder stinger after the last game but did not show concussion symptoms, which at least eases one concern for a team trying to steady itself after a loss. For Florida, though, the bigger issue is simpler and more pressing: finding the quarterback who can handle the moment in a game where one rough stretch can quickly tilt the whole afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Florida-Georgia In Atlanta Just Created A New Rivalry Debate
The annual Florida-Georgia game is heading somewhere it has never quite felt at home before, with this years meeting moving to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta because of renovations at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. A tradition built around neutral-site familiarity suddenly has a different backdrop, and the change has only sharpened the conversation around what makes this rivalry special. Even with ticket prices running higher than usual, interest has not wavered, and Florida has already sold out its allotment.
For both programs, the matchup still carries the same weight on the field, but the business side has shifted in a meaningful way. AMB Sports & Entertainment will pay each school $7.5 million for the game, underscoring just how big the event remains even away from its longtime Jacksonville home. The setting may be new, but the draw is clearly intact, and this one is already asking fans to decide whether a temporary relocation can still feel like Florida-Georgia at all. [Read more 🡒]