Florida Gators
LSU
Men's Basketball Comeback Bid Falls Short Against LSU, 85-73
Thursday, February 14, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Freshman guard Nick Calathes (Winter Park, Fla.) scored a team-high 16 points, but the University of Florida men's basketball team fell short on a second-half comeback attempt and was defeated by LSU, 85-73, on Wednesday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Florida, who was seeking its 20th win of the year, dropped to 19-6 overall and 6-4 in Southeastern Conference play. The Gators were previously 14-1 at home. LSU picked up only its second conference victory of the season, improving to 9-14 overall and 2-7 in league play.
Trailing 55-42 at the 12:34 mark, Florida mounted a second-half charge that began with a Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) lay-up. Following an LSU turnover, Calathes converted a three-point play on a cutting lay-up and a foul with 11:01 to go.
Werner added another lay-up on an unforced error by LSU, and sophomore center Marreese Speights (St. Petersburg, Fla.) threw down a driving dunk through the lane to pull the Gators to within four at 55-51 with 9:49 remaining in the contest.
However, LSU guard Marcus Thornton answered with one of his four 3-pointers on the night. Back-to-back baskets by forward Anthony Randolph and center Chris Johnson once again saw the deficit grow to double digits.
A Randolph slam at the 7:51 mark made it 64-51 LSU, and Florida was only able to get to within eight points the rest of the way. The Tigers answered nearly every time the Gators responded highlighted by Thornton and Randolph, who finished with 20 and 22 points, respectively.
UF trailed 41-33 at the half as LSU shot a blistering 56 percent from the field on 17-of-30 shooting. The Tigers maintained that percentage in the second half, while the Gators finished at 44 percent from the field on 16-of-36 shooting. UF committed 19 turnovers to LSU's 11, but out-rebounded the Tigers 39-22.
LSU jumped out to an early lead and took advantage of several UF miscues. The Tigers built a 14-2 lead in the first six minutes as the Gators missed six out of their first seven shots from the field. LSU pushed the advantage to 20-6 before Florida sliced the deficit to single digits into the locker room.
Werner pulled down a game-high nine boards. Speights chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds, and Calathes dished out five assists.
Florida faces No. 19 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., at 3 p.m. ET Saturday. The contest will be televised by Raycom affiliates.
