BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS COURTESY MARVIN CHAMBERS
4.0 SPORTS MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
On April 7, the men’s NCAA basketball National Championship was decided in San Antonio, Texas at the Alamodome. Two #1 teams with 35-4 records went head to head to decide the crown.
The Florida Gators entered their 4th national title game, winning two of the previous three, while the Houston Cougars had never won a championship, famously coming up short with Phi Slamma Jamma.
At halftime, Houston led Florida 31-28, all while keeping star guard Walter Clayton, Jr. in check. Clayton scored 34 points in the win over Auburn that got them to the title game. Florida turned the ball over 8 times in the first 20 minutes. Despite that, Will Richards kept the Gators in it with 14 points.
The second half saw the Cougars open up a 12 point lead, with key baskets from LJ Cryer and Javier Francis. Then, Alijah Martin hit a key 3 pointer to cut the lead to 45-39. With the game tied 48-48 with 7:54 left in the game, both teams exchange leads several times going down to the wire.
After a late turnover by Houston, Florida went to the foul line and made it 65-63. In the final seconds, the Cougars were unable to get off a shot, ending their hopes of winning their first national title and handing the Gators their third.
Despite the rocky first half, Clayton ended up with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Houston was led by LJ Cryer’s 19 points.
Todd Golden has won his first ever championship game for Florida, with the other two in school history belonging to Billy Donovan in 2006 and 2007.
