Florida Gators
South Alabama
No. 18 Basketball Defeated By South Alabama, 67-66
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 | Men's Basketball
The No. 18 University of Florida men's basketball team (8-3) suffered its third-consecutive loss on Tuesday night at the O'Connell Center as the South Alabama Jaguars (9-4) defeated the Gators, 67-66.
The game came down to the final seconds as Florida held onto a one-point lead. South Alabama's Tim Williams, who tallied 21 points on the evening, drove through the lane in the closing seconds, but his shot clanged off the rim. The Gators failed to block out De'Andre Hersey, who grabbed the rebound and put it back up for the game winner with 1.8 seconds remaining.
Florida had one final chance, but sophomore guard Erving Walker's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) shot from half court hit the back of the rim and the Jaguars took home the win.
The Gators rallied from a seven-point deficit in the second half and had the lead and the ball with less than a minute to play. Junior forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) led the Gators in scoring for the second-straight game as he tallied 16 points and seven rebounds against the Jaguars. Freshman guard Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) added 14 points, and redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin (Portsmouth, Va.) finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Gators finished 3 of 22 from behind the arc, where South Alabama connected on 7 of 11. Florida entered the game leading the Southeastern Conference in 3-point defense, but the Jaguars made five of their first seven from long range.
After a back-and-forth first half ended in a 43-all tie, South Alabama opened up a seven-point lead thanks to Williams' putback and a three-pointer from Hersey. The Gators chipped into the lead with inside play from Tyus and Macklin. Parson made five free throws in the final three minutes, with the last two putting Florida ahead 66-63 with 1:17 remaining.
The Gators return to action on Monday, Dec. 28 as they host American at 7 p.m. at the O'Connell Center. The game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Net, airing in Florida on FOX Sports Florida.
