Walker’s layup propels No. 17 Gators over Vols

Down six at halftime, the No. 17/19 Florida Gators (20-5, 9-2 SEC) rallied late in the second half and utilized a go-ahead layup from junior point guard Erving Walker with 14 seconds remaining to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers (15-10, 5-5 SEC) 61-60 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Saturday. With the victory, Florida swept Tennessee in the season series for the first time since 2002 and achieved their 12th victory in their last 14 games.

Walker led the Gators with a team-high 16 points, most of it coming from the charity stripe; he made nine of 10 free throws, the same number attempted by the entire Volunteers team over the course of the game.

Injuring his hip early in the first half, Florida senior forward Chandler Parsons had trouble finding his groove the entire evening. UF appeared to lack athleticism with him being limited, a factor that allowed UT to use a 15-4 run to propel themselves to a 28-21 lead with 5:54 remaining in the first half. The Gators fought back to end the half down six after Vols guard Scotty Hopson made a three-pointer with 14 seconds remaining.

Down 45-38, Florida used a 10-2 run to retake the lead 49-47 with 7:40 remaining in the game. Walker hit a three-pointer, and Parsons added his first field goal (also a trey) with 9:43 left in the second half. Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin followed with a hook shot; he stole the ball on the next possession and dunked it to score four-straight points before Walker added a free throw to cap the run.

The Gators didn’t hold the advantage for long, allowing the Volunteers to complete a 6-0 run to retake the lead 53-49 with 6:10 to go. Florida responded in kind, using a 10-3 run to go up 59-56 with 2:16 remaining.

From there, a jumper by C Brian Williams and a layup by G Cameron Tatum once again gave Tennessee the lead, 60-59, with 47 seconds left. Senior F Alex Tyus was sent to the line for two shots but failed to connect on either attempt.

After Tatum missed the front end of a one-and-one with 26 seconds left on the clock, Walker took matters into his own hands. He drove the lane and hit the Gators’ go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining.

UT G Melvin Goins missed a three-pointer with two seconds on the clock, which allowed UF to escape with a one-point victory and the season sweep.

Though Walker’s heroics stole the show, he was supported by Macklin and sophomore G Kenny Boynton, each of whom scored 12 points. Tyus added a double-double (his second of the season) with 10 points and 11 boards.

Hopson led Tennessee with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting; he was perfect from downtown (3-for-3) and added five rebounds and four assists. However, Hopson also turned the ball over a game-high six times and was shaky from the free throw line.

With the victory, Florida has won 15 of their last 18 games with 11 wins agianst RPI top 100 teams. The Gators improved to 12-3 at home this season (5-1 in SEC play) and are now 17-1 when holding opponents under 70 points.

UF has eight days to recover before travelling to LSU on Sunday, Feb. 20. The game will air live on ESPN at 1 p.m.

Photo Credit: Phil Sandlin/Associated Press