Alijah Martin’s incredible dunk, Florida’s bench celebration captured in viral photograph
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Florida is rolling into the national title game on Monday, and some big-time plays by Alijah Martin loomed large for the Gators during the 2nd half.
Coming out of halftime, it was Auburn who carried an 8-point lead in the Final Four matchup. However, it did not take long for a red-hot Walter Clayton Jr. to ignite the game and turn things around for Florida.
Even after Clayton’s initial push, he needed some help, and Martin delivered a crucial No. 2 option for Florida with 17 points in the win. He also delivered some high-flying dunks, including one viral photograph.
That photograph came on Martin’s take-off dunk from just inside the free-throw line. It gave the Gators a 59-57 lead, and led to a brilliant photograph.
Here is the play and that shot which quickly made the rounds on social media:
While that dunk is hard to top for most players, Martin did just that a few minutes later. He threw down a vicious fastbreak dunk over a couple of Tigers, providing a cushion that Florida would increase and ride all the way to the finish line:
Martin was efficient all night long with 17 points on just 10 shot attempts, and he was also a walking highlight reel. We’ll see if he can pull out any more big-time moments when the national title is on the line Monday night.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
