NEW ORLEANS -- After most games, a box score explains everything. At least it's supposed to. Why one team got the victory; why the other got the defeat. And it's usually pretty easy to sift through the key numbers and figure it out.
But the scoring sheet from Florida's 66-63 dogfight win over Alabama in Friday's second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in front of 18,207 at New Orleans Arena was about as simple to dissect as a sudoku.
OK, maybe not an extra hard one, but you get the idea.
UF assistant John Pelphrey did.
“I don't know how we won the game,” Pelphrey shrugged coming out of the locker room, mere minutes after Crimson Tide guard Trevor Lacey's game-tying 3-point shot banged off the rim as time expired. “Probably the way we protected the ball. And free throws. We made 'em.”
Florida turned the ball over just five times, including just once after halftime, and knocked down 16 of 19 free throws for the game, including 11 of 12 in the second half, none bigger than Kenny Boynton's two with 9.8 seconds left to give UF a three-point cushion.
“It was a grind,” senior point guard Erving Walker said. “But we made the plays at the end.”
That Florida managed to claim its first victory in 17 days was significant, as the Gators (23-9) snapped a three-game losing streak and into Saturday's tournament semifinals against -- drum roll, please -- top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Kentucky (31-1), which defeated LSU 60-51 in the day's first quarterfinal.
The mighty Wildcats defeated the Gators 74-59 on Sunday, but a second crack in less than a week at the favorites to win the national championship was welcome.
“Maybe they'll take us lightly this time,” UF center Patric Young said.
If they watched Friday, they might.
The Gators shot the ball poorly (38.5 percent), struggled defensively (allowing 53.3 percent) in surrendering 38 points in the paint, got beat up on the glass (32-27) and allowed forward JaMychal Green -- suspended for UF's 61-51 win at Tuscaloosa last month -- to power his way to 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Somehow, Florida overcame those numbers.
They did it, sort of, from the 3-point line.
“The greatest equalizer in college basketball,” UF coach Billy Donovan.
True that, but usually the equalizing comes at better than a 33-percent clip, which was what the Gators fired from long range (10 for 30) against the Tide.
Fortunately, for Florida, two of those long balls came at pivotal moments in the second half after Alabama erased a 12-point deficit with just under 13 minutes to play to tie the game twice; first inside the seven-minute mark and again just inside six minutes.
Here's the rub: the first so-called equalizer, didn't even go in.
Boynton (14 points) was fouled jacking a missed 3-pointer with the game tied at 51 with 5:17 to play and promptly stepped to the line and hit all three free throws. After a miss on the Tide's end, backup guard Scottie Wilbekin also was fouled launching a trey, only this one did go in, though Wilbekin missed the free throw.
But just like that, the Gators were back up by a half-dozen, with the lead growing to as many as seven after another three by Boynton at the 1:58 mark and as little as two when UF point guard Erv Walker was called for a travel and Young fouled out raking Green as he tried to score in the post with 20.3 seconds left.
Green, with a chance to tie the game, made the first free throw, but rimmed out the second, with the Gators clearing the rebound into the halfcourt and running 11 seconds off the clock before Boynton was fouled with 9.8 to go.
Swish. Swish.
“I didn't put any pressure on myself,” Boynton said. “I just wanted to knock 'em down.”
In doing so, he knocked the Tide out of the SEC Tournament and left their NCAA Tournament fate in the hands of the selection committee.
“We had our opportunities late in the game,” Alabama coach Anthony Grant said.
The Gators did too, only they capitalized and made the plays to offset some not-so-good numbers.
Freshman guard Bradley Beal led UF in points (16), rebounds (7) and assists (5). Forward Erik Murphy added 15 points. Walker had seven points and four assists, but was outstanding running the Florida offense and getting teammates open looks.
A bunch didn't go in.
Enough did.
“Confidence is a big thing with this team,” Beal said. “Even though shots aren't falling there's other things you can do to impact a game and try to get the win.”
This time of year, winning is all that matters.
