Will Wade put it best a few weeks ago after their loss to Arkansas, “You live on the tightrope long enough, you’ll eventually fall off.” Much like on February 2nd, LSU (21-5, 11-2) had been living dangerously in the last few ballgames and it wound biting them in the backside with Florida (15-11, 7-6) leaving the PMAC on Wednesday night with an 82-77 overtime win.
How It Happened:
Florida started to take control early on in the matchup, getting out to a 14-5 lead with 14:29 left in the first half. The Tigers started to put things together late in the first half and got the lead down to two points that to a late 8-4 run that put the Tigers in prime position to take control of the ballgame in the second half.
LSU kept it competitive throughout the second half, eventually taking the lead with 13:45 left in regulation, but the Gators stayed within arms reach throughout the second half. With about six seconds left in regulation and the score knotted up at 64 points apiece, Tremont Waters had a chance to be the hero, but a missed three-pointer as time expired, forcing overtime.
After an early back-and-forth, the Gators pulled away in the final minute with some clutch three-point shooting from Kevaughn Allen, snapping the Tigers win streak in the process.
Big Number: 25
One of the big reasons that the Tigers managed to get it to overtime was because they were able to get to the line with a lot of consistency, attempting 25 free throws in comparison to the Gators 13 attempts from the charity stripe. It may not seem like much, but the Tigers were solid in the second half when it came to free throws and that helped the Tigers get the lead early in the second half.
Player of the Game: Kevaughn Allen
Allen was impressive for Florida with 21 points, 15 of which came from three-point range. If not for his performance in overtime, the Tigers could have come away with another win inside the friendly confines.
Next Up: Saturday vs Tennessee Tipoff at 11 am
-Clint Domingue