Commodores complete season sweep of Gators

NASHVILLE — Liam Robbins scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked five shots while leading six players in double-figure scoring as Vanderbilt beat Florida 88-72 on Saturday night to sweep the season series.

Vanderbilt (16-13, 9-7 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from an 85-77 loss at LSU and has won six of its last seven. The Commodores also won their ninth SEC game, their most since the 2016-17 season.

Ezra Manjon added 15 points for the Commodores, who shot 52% overall and made 10 of 24 from long range. Tyrin Lawrence added 13 points, and Colin Smith, Trey Thomas and Myles Stute had 11 each.

Dr. Phillips alum Riley Kugel scored 20 points to lead Florida (14-15, 7-9), which has lost three in a row and six of its last seven. Kyle Lofton added 15 points, and the pair combined for five 3-pointers.

“We obviously want to win games,” first-year Gators coach Todd Golden said. “We aren’t OK with losing; not acceptable.

“With that being said, the only way to get better and improve and give yourself a great chance is by being consistent and still working hard every day, still maintaining a great attitude and holding yourself to a high standard of accountability.”

Vanderbilt built a 16-point lead early in the second half before Florida pulled to 67-58 with 7 minutes, 54 seconds left.

The Commodores answered with a 17-7 run, capped by consecutive 3s from Robbins and Thomas, and led 81-65 with 3:13 to play. Manjon made layups twice to push the lead to 19 in the closing minutes.

“Vandy is playing really well offensively,” Golden said. “They’ve been playing really well offensively since the beginning of conference play. They’re one of the only teams all year that we haven’t been able to keep off the 3-point line.”

Vanderbilt took the lead for good three minutes into the game and led 46-36 at the break. The Commodores shot 53% overall in the half.

Florida plays at Georgia on Tuesday.