BATON ROUGE, La. — Rueben Chinyelu delivered an outstanding performance with a career-high of 19 points and 13 rebounds, leading No. 2 ranked Florida to a 79-65 victory over LSU on Saturday night.
Along with Chinyelu, Thomas Haugh contributed 16 points, Alijah Martin added 14, and Walter Clayton Jr. scored 13 as Florida improved to 24-3 overall and 11-3 in the Southeastern Conference, marking their sixth consecutive win.
On the other side, LSU’s freshman Robert Miller III also had a career night, scoring 19 points and collecting 10 rebounds, which helped keep the Tigers competitive against Florida throughout the second half. LSU’s record now stands at 14-13 with a 3-11 mark in the SEC.
The game began with Florida quickly establishing a 29-15 lead in the first 13 minutes. However, LSU made a significant comeback led by a 3-pointer from Curtis Givens III, igniting a remarkable 22-2 run that dominated the last 6:41 of the first half.
As the game progressed, Florida regained control with a decisive 15-2 run, marking a pivotal moment that put the Gators ahead 53-48. Chinyelu was instrumental in this stretch, scoring seven points, including a crucial put-back basket despite being fouled.
Florida has now played three games without key players Alex Condon and Sam Alexis, yet they remained resilient.
Observations from the game highlight that Florida struggled somewhat from beyond the arc, shooting 7 of 22 on 3-point attempts, which is notably below their previous games where they often hit at least 10. Nevertheless, they capitalized on their size advantage to dominate the interior, outscoring LSU in the paint 44-24.
For LSU, despite showing the ability to contest against top-tier SEC teams in bursts, finishing games has proven challenging.
A key moment in the matchup occurred when Clayton stole the ball from Mike Williams III, leading to Martin’s 3-pointer from the right wing, which extended Florida’s lead to 69-59 with just 4:16 remaining on the clock.
In terms of statistics, Florida not only out-rebounded LSU 48-33 but also collected 19 offensive boards that translated into 17 second-chance points.
Looking ahead, both teams will return to action on Tuesday night; Florida is set to visit Georgia while LSU will host No. 6 Tennessee.
