At the Buzzer: Florida 73, LSU 64 (Instant Breakdown)

AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 73, LSU 64

WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators came out in the second half with a bundle of energy, built a double-digit lead, withstood a comeback by the Tigers, then used a late surge behind guards Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen to surge in front and hold off the Tigers for a victory at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The win was much needed, as it snapped a three-game losing streak in Southeastern Conference. Down by a point with with just over five minutes remaining, Hudson hit an 18-footer, Allen made an old-time 3-point play on an acrobatic runner as the shot clock timed out, then Hudson followed with a conventional trey to open a seven-point lead. The Tigers got it back to four, but a step-back baseline jumper by Allen was followed by a conventional 3-point play by Hudson for a nine-point advantage with 1:15 left. Hudson finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, while forward Keith Stone had 15 points and Egor Koulechov had 12, all but two in the second half, as the Gators shot 51 percent from the floor. LSU got 17 points from backup guard Brandon Sampson, who hit four 3-pointers, but missed its last eight shots of the game.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators need this one for the sake of their confidence, but also to stop the bleeding of that ugly three-game SEC losing skid. They now sit alone in third place in the league standings, one game ahead of fourth-place Kentucky, Mississippi State and Missouri, and one behind second-place Tennessee and 2 1/2 behind behind front-running Auburn, which plays later tonight. Florida plays both the Volunteers and the Tigers later this month. .

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Hudson, the team's leading scorer at 15.7 points per game, went a combined 6-for-24 his previous two games, including 3-for-10 from the 3-point line. In this one, he dropped seven of his 13 shots and two of his 3-balls, but also showed some aggression in his man coverage on the defensive end and tallied a couple steals.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: LSU leading scorer and star point guard Tremont Waters came into the game averaging 15.3 points on 43-percent shooting from the floor and 37-percent from the 3-point line. Waters was coming off career highs of 27 points and 11 assists in a win over Arkansas over the weekend. Senior point guard Chris Chiozza was the primary cover on waters and held him to just nine points on 3-for-15 shooting overall, just one of nine makes from deep and tied his career-worst seven turnovers. He did have seven rebounds and six assists, though.

UP NEXT: The Gators (16-8, 7-3) are back on the SEC road Saturday when they face South Carolina (13-11, 4-7) at noon. The Gamecocks, you might recall, started UF on its tailspin from atop the SEC standings when they came to the O'Dome on Jan. 24 and handed the Gators a 77-72 defeat just four days after a huge win at Kentucky. USC has not won since, dropping four straight, most recently Tuesday night's 81-65 road defeat at Arkansas. For Florida, this will mark the first of five rematches over the final six regular-season games.

Gators Calendar

At the Buzzer: Florida 73, LSU 64 (Instant Breakdown)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Jalen Hudson

Egor Koulechov

Keith Stone

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