No. 3 Florida rallies to 81-68 win over No. 22 Mississippi State

Denzel Aberdeen scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures on Tuesday night as No. 3 Florida overcame a halftime deficit in a 81-68 win over No. 22 Mississippi State in Starkville.

Walter Clayton stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Gators (21-3, 8-3 Southeastern Conference), while Thomas Haugh came off the bench for 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Will Richard and Rueben Chinyelu each added 10 points.

Josh Hubbard scored 19 points and dished out six assists for the Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6), while reserve KeShawn Murphy added 18 points and 13 boards. Mississippi State struggled from the floor, making only 24 of 58 field goal attempts (41.4 percent).

Meanwhile, Florida recovered from its first-half struggles to shoot 45.9 percent from the field (28-for-61), including 14 of 36 3-pointers. The Gators were careful with the ball, committing just eight turnovers.

Florida chomped down on Mississippi State to start the second half, scoring the first 17 points. Aberdeen started the outburst with a 3-pointer and ended it with a transition dunk for a 50-34 advantage with 15:09 left.

Later in the second half, the Gators' lead reached 24 on two occasions. The Bulldogs used a late run to make the final score more respectable.

The main storyline prior to tip-off was whether Florida could follow up its second victory over a top-ranked team this season -- it spanked No. 1 Auburn 90-81 Saturday.

Mississippi State owned the boards throughout the first half, using that advantage to get extra shots that made up for the Gators' superior 3-point shooting.

RJ Melendez converted a transition layup in the last minute to give the Bulldogs a 34-33 edge at the break.

--Field Level Media