Clayton leads Florida to NCAA title game, scoring 34 points in 79-73 win over Auburn

By STEPHEN HAWKINS SAN ANTONIO AP Walter Clayton Jr scored points and Florida beat Southeastern Conference rival Auburn - in the Final Four on Saturday night sending the Gators to the national championship meeting for the first time since their titles in and The All-America guard for the Gators - had a driving layup with left on the possession right after Australian big man Alex Condon drew a charge against Johni Broome the other All-America player in this national semifinal and who was dealing with an injured right elbow After a record SEC teams made this NCAA Tournament seven got to the Sweet before the league made up half the Elite Eight and then this Final Four filled with No seeds The Gators will have the chance Monday night to win the SEC s first title since Kentucky in the only one since they won in back-to-back seasons Florida takes an -game winning streak into the title championship match in the Alamodome against either Duke or Houston We re just all together on the court and off the court Clayton declared Even at the end of the first SEC matchup in a Final Four Clayton chased a loose rebound and tipped it back inbounds to keep the clock running out on the win When he started to walk back on the court teammate Alijah Martin was standing watching him at the end line nodding with a smile to greet him The Tigers - in their second Final Four with coach Bruce Pearl were the top overall seed and had an eight-point halftime lead Auburn had us on our heels in the first half but we came out with a great start and we didn t look back reported -year-old Florida coach Todd Golden the former Saint Mary s competitor and San Francisco coach who joined Pearl s first staff at Auburn in Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr drives around Auburn guard Miles Kelly during the second half in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday April in San Antonio AP Photo Brynn Anderson Clayton became the first competitor with consecutive -point games in the Elite Eight and semifinals since Larry Bird for Indiana State in according to ESPN Stats Clayton got over with his three-point play with left scoring on a layup while being fouled and adding the free throw Martin who played in the Final Four with FAU two years ago added points for the Gators Thomas Haugh had Florida opened the second half with a - run with Clayton capping an - run with a layup after Rueben Chinyelu s steal That put the Gators up - with minutes left Chad Baker-Mazara with his left hand partially wrapped because of a thumb issue led Auburn with points including four -pointers Broome finished with points on -of- shooting and had seven rebounds he had only three points after halftime Related Articles NCAA women s basketball South Carolina UConn advance to title competition Final Four picks Duke and Auburn are the teams to beat Favorite UConn joins top seeds in South Carolina UCLA and Texas in women s Final Four Big in March Madness Loads of units earned but more mouths to feed What s next for Arizona MBB after Sweet loss to Duke first Big season Even before the final buzzer sounded Broome was hunched over and then was surrounded by cameras to capture his reaction He eventually stood up to shake hands then walked off the court with his eyes red from crying pulling up his jersey to wipe his face as cameras continued to follow his exit Broome and Baker-Mazara both were injured in the win over Michigan State last Sunday that sent the Tigers to the Final Four Broome s right elbow bent awkwardly during a hard fall in the second half and in the Final Four he wore certain kind of brace on his arm covered by a sleeve Head Coach Todd Golden of the Florida Gators reacts during the second half in the Final Four battle of the NCAA Men s Basketball Tournament against the Auburn Tigers at the Alamodome on April in San Antonio Texas Photo by Alex Slitz Getty Images