Todd Golden reacts to big games from Xaivian Lee, Alex Condon in Florida’s win over Kentucky
By David Wasson
Published:
Round 1 of Blueblood vs. Blueblood in the SEC this season went to No. 14 Florida, which held off No. 25 Kentucky 92-83 on Saturday afternoon at Exactech Arena in Gainesville largely due to the efforts of Xaivian Lee and Alex Condon.
Lee dropped a game-high 22 points, which included making four 3-pointers, along with three assists in just 25 minutes. Afterward, Gators coach Todd Golden praised Lee’s ability to attack the Wildcats from anywhere on the floor.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s playing great, right? I mean, he was fantastic at Georgia, he was great at Vanderbilt,” Golden said. “He’s stacked some really good games over the last couple of weeks, and I thought he was fantastic today. Just got off to a great start knocking shots down.
“To your point, he did a really good job of playing with great patience in the paint, playing off two, making good decisions. And he gave us a big lift. Obviously, him and Urby shooting the ball the way they did allowed us to win the game the way we did today.”
Condon was equally as effective, going for 14 points and 11 rebounds to notch his sixth double-double of the season for Florida (19-6 overall, 10-2 SEC) one outing after coughing up seven turnovers against Georgia on Wednesday night.
“People want to poke at things about our team or about our personnel when we’re not doing everything perfectly, but you look at the big picture, and how many guys in America would you trade Alex Condon for?” Golden said. “I can’t think of any at that spot. And he’s been a huge winner for us. And the double-double, huge, but it’s his defense, it’s his winning plays, it’s his effort that’s unmatched, and it’s why he’s such a great player.”
Kentucky (17-8, 8-4) got 19 points from Denzel Aberdeen and 18 from Collin Chandler in the loss.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
