Xaivian Lee Leads Way as Gators Rebound in Orange Bowl Classic
SUNRISE, Fla. — No. 18 Florida returned to the win column for the first time in two weeks Saturday.
The Gators (6-4) bounced back from Tuesday’s loss against No. 5 UConn with a 80-70 victory over George Washington (8-4) in their 24th Orange Bowl Classic appearance at Amerant Bank Arena.
Xaivian Lee broke out in victory with a season-high 24 points and shot 54.5% from the field. He also added six boards, four assists and two steals.
“I always try to keep my confidence high,” Lee said. “It’s definitely tested the last couple weeks, but I just let them fly and trust in my work and my teammates.”
The former two-time unanimous First Team All-Ivy League selection picked up two quick 3-pointers in Saturday’s game in the first 4:17 of play. Lee went on to add six boards and four assists, while knocking down four of the team’s six 3-pointers to win the AutoNation Orange Bowl Basketball Classic MVP award.
“We have so many strengths and obviously shooting hasn’t been one so far, but we know we’re all capable of making shots,” Lee said. “Especially us guards, we’ve been shooting really poorly, but it’s only up from here.”
Florida entered the non-conference matchup with two consecutive losses and were looking for a much-needed win after the defending national champions matched last year’s loss total in just over a month into the 2025-26 season. Florida’s record heading into the game carried the worst start in 11 years from any team that picked up a title the season prior.
“The reality is we have a really good club,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “We’re close to being a very good team, but we’re far from that right now.”
Florida’s win against the Revolutionaries marked its first in the Sunshine State since Nov. 21. The Gators have become familiar with competing away from Gainesville — they have played on a neutral or away court in seven of its 10 contests.
The Gators entered Saturday’s contest ranked 350th in 3-point percentage at 27.3%. In the first half, those struggles continued. Florida came out of the first half shooting 4 of 19 from 3, adding to its already abysmal shooting total in the frame.
Sophomore guard Boogie Fland went into the halftime break 0-for-3 from 3-point range and finished 0-for-5 with 12 points.
“We got off to a good start in the first half and then started allowing our misses on the offensive end to affect the overall quality of our play,” Golden said. “After talking through that, we actually hit our goals at halftime.”
The Gators responded in the final 20 minutes adding 48 of its 80 points. One of the brightest spots on Florida’s roster thus far can be found in Thomas Haugh, who recorded 19 points on 53% from the field.
He opened the scoring with his 18th 3-pointer of the season. He has picked up a 3 in all but one contest this year. The New Oxford, Pennsylvania, native started his junior campaign hot, averaging 18.6 points per game and shooting 48.6%.
The third-year forward has averaged 23 points when playing in Florida’s three contests against AP top-5 opponents and notched his seventh game with more than 17 points.
Florida entered averaging 19.8 personals per game but managed to keep the issue to a minimum in the win. It picked up 14 calls in the victory — the Gators fewest since Nov. 21 against Merrimack.
While the Gators remained mostly clean, the Revolutionaries’ struggles from the stripe didn’t help GW’s chances as it shot 7-of-19.
“I thought we defended without fouling better,” Golden said. “They had only been to the stripe 19 times and two of them was when we fouled 3-point shooters.”
Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
