Florida basketball eked out a too-close-for-comfort win over the East Carolina Pirates on Thursday night in Lakeland for this year’s Florida Tip-Off, coming away with a narrow 70-65 victory.
It was a close game throughout, with the Gators’ largest lead being just 11 points with 2:54 remaining in the first half but still managed to go wire-to-wire in this one. Despite being favored by double digits, the two teams traded punches all night long with the Gators fighting off a pesky Pirates squad for the five-point win.
Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 22 points, while three other Gators notched double digits. The Orange and Blue improved to 7-3 with three games remaining in its non-conference schedule.
Take a look below at the five main takeaways from Florida’s win over East Carolina.