The Florida Gators continue to be an absolute pain in LSU’s backside. After two overtime games in the regular season between these two, it should come as no surprise that they would go to war with each other and it would come down to the final seconds of the ballgame to determine who would stay in contention in the SEC Tournament on Friday.
How It Happened:
The Tigers came out the gates fast, going up by eight points with 14:51 left in the first half. The Gators tried to keep things closer as the first half progressed, but it was all LSU resulting in a 10-point lead at the break despite a late run by Florida.
The Gators started to make a push to take control of the ballgame in the second half, cutting the deficit to as low as four points with 12:37 left in the ballgame. It stayed at about a five-point ballgame headed into the final media timeout and Florida finally took the lead when Keyontae Johnson drilled a three-pointer, was fouled, and then Tony Benford was called for a technical. That resulted in a six-point trip and gave the Gators a three-point lead with 3:45 left in the ballgame. LSU tied things up with 14 seconds left with a three-pointer by Naz Reid, but Andrew Nembhard immediately responded for Florida and helped give them a 76-73 win and advanced to the semifinals.
Big Number: 6
That six-point possession by Florida late in the ballgame was very much the defining moment of the ballgame. The call by the officials was extremely questionable and should have been reviewed, but that’s the way the ball bounces.
Player of the Game: Naz Reid
Naz Reid was a monster in Friday afternoon’s matchup, racking up 26 points and 14 boards on the afternoon.
Next Up: NCAA Tourney vs TBA
-Clint Domingue