Jacksonville stuns No. 19/20 Florida in overtime

By Adam Silverstein
December 20, 2010

Coming off their biggest win of the season, the newly-minted No. 19/20 Florida Gators were looking to continue the momentum just under two days later against the Jacksonville Dolphins at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL. Florida (8-3) instead proved that they were not up to the task and dropped a 71-68 overtime thriller to their in-state visitors.

The Gators began the game just like their last: slow and inefficient. Florida only posted six points in the first seven minutes of the game while simultaneously turning the ball over five times. They completed the first half with 13 turnovers and only shot 9-of-20 from the field, allowing Jacksonville (7-3) to take a 29-27 lead into the locker rooms.

UF looked like it was starting to turn things around in the second half as they went up a game-high seven points on a trey by junior point guard Erving Walker with 6:58 remaining. That advantage would be short lived, however, with JU putting together a 7-0 run to tie the game up at 56 just three minutes later.

Up two with the ball and 33 seconds left in the game, the Gators looked to close out the contest. Unfortunately senior forward Chandler Parsons turned the ball over near mid-court; Dolphins guard Ayron Hardy stole it and dunked it with 21 seconds remaining to force overtime..

Walker hit three of four free throws early in overtime to give Florida a 64-63 advantage, but a turnover in the backcourt by sophomore G Kenny Boynton allowed Jacksonville to take a 65-64 lead.

Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin knocked in a missed layup by Walker to put UF back up one, but four-straight free throws by JU G Keith McDougald would end up icing the game for the underdogs.

Though he scored a season-high 21 points and made 9-of-13 free throws, Walker missed a game-winner in regulation and game-tying shot in overtime for Florida. He also shot only 5-of-12 from the field and 2-for-6 from downtown.

Filling out the box score for the Gators with double-digit points were Macklin (13), Boynton (12) and senior F Alex Tyus (10). Macklin and Boynton combined to go 10-for-27 from the field, part of the reason why the team as a whole only shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59).

The Dolphins were led by McDougald’s game-high 18 points but were also fortunate enough to have an impressive showing from Hardy, who scored 12 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Jacksonville out-shot Florida from the field and downtown, but the Gators out-rebounded the Dolphins 42-30. UF turned the ball over four more times than JU, but Jacksonville fouled Florida twice as often (26-13), part of the reason the offense was so off-balance.

The Gators will try to collect themselves before facing Radford on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will air live on Comcast Sports South (check your local listings).

15 Comments

  1. Gatorbuc15 says:

    Why is it that whenever a team beats a really good team they turn around and lose to a cup cake? This shit really pisses me off. We’re 10x better than that team yet we played like bum’s. They played with no fire or energy and it bit them in the ass this time. They deserved to lose today because they went into game thinking that the Dolphins were just gonna bend over and take it up the you know what.

  2. John S says:

    It was stupid to schedule this game. Very disappointing, bad coaching and play at the end. What the hell is wrong with Parsons?

  3. g8ter27 says:

    These guys are a joke..and a bad one at that. We lose to JU at home? At home? JU? Well so much for that quality win if we are sitting on the bubble, we just negated that and then some.

  4. GATORNATIONSPRESIDENT says:

    I think the sports gods are punishing us this year….after that stressful and disappointing football season, I had high hopes for this basketball team. Even after the OSU slotter and the UCF upset, all was cured by beating K-State on Saturday. Now this….OUCH. There is nothing else that can be said. OUCH

  5. GATORNATIONSPRESIDENT says:

    Why would Billy schedule this game? A early Monday game only 2 days after playing a team he knew would be very tough. I don’t get it. I never see any other major D-1 teams play on a Monday morning/early afternoon at all, let alone 2 days after the previous game. Puzzling

  6. Wingtee says:

    This team is in deep trouble. These seniors are horrible.wish we would at lest try

  7. ncgator says:

    I find it amazing that anyone who watched the gators last year expected anything different this year. They got an absurdly high pre-season rating simply because all the starters were returning. Problem is, those starters weren’t very good. The so-called big men on this team are terrible. Macklin would be no more than a 6th-man on most of the top ten teams, Tyus plays like a wild man with no discipline and Parsons has become a complete stiff. As a whole, their ball handling skills are horrible which in turn leads to an unacceptable amount of turnovers. Putting in back-ups doesn’t solve the problem either because Donovan’s done such a shitty job recruiting there’s nobody on the bench to step up. I don’t understand how a guy that won two national championships back-to-back can have such an empty plate! Maybe Billy should lose that eddy munster look and start doing his job.

  8. g8trpls says:

    Someone needs to start holding Donovan accountable. The
    talent on this team is pathetic at best. And, could someone please
    tell me how the more experienced, these players get the worse they
    play. (i.e) Werner last season and Parsons this season. I thought
    seniors were supposed to be leaders, not weak links.

  9. g8ter27 says:

    It seems like our guys are all pu@#ies! That has been the
    case for a couple years now.So are we recruiting a bunch of them or
    are we coaching them like that..or both? How the hell can we be out
    manned by JU or UCF. Hell Flagler may beat us next.

  10. Charles says:

    I was at the game and Chandler Parsons bascially just gave
    the ball to Hardy on that play. That was the play of the game,
    there wasn’t really any momentum for either team up unitl that
    point, and then Parsons basically handsthe ball off to Hardy to get
    the break away dunk to tie the game. I was hoping Albert would come
    flying out of the stands and tackle Parsons to the floor and start
    wailing on him. Much to my chagrin, this did not happen, would’ve
    been the highlight of the year though.

  11. Charles says:

    Another thing, why can’t Kenny and Walker ever seem to
    throw an alley oop on a fast break? I can remember 3 times where
    Patric Young was looking and open for the play but instead a
    contested layup was taken and missed on two occassions. Seriously,
    that play needs to be indoctrinated into the system and every
    guard’s head here. You have to reward the big for running the
    floor. This accomplishes so many things: Tells the other team you
    are just as willing to pass as you are to shoot. Tells your bigs
    that they will be rewarded for running the court. Increases the
    chances of a dunk while being fouled. Inspires the team to play
    aggressive defensive to create more opportunities. Ignites the
    fans. So much more than this too, I could think of countless
    reasons why they should do it, not too many of why they shouldn’t.
    It was driving me insane on my way home.

  12. npgator says:

    We will be better next year.

  13. Jesse C says:

    I guess its going to be another rollercoaster of a season. Beating some good teams and losing to some bad teams. Donovan’s teams have always lived and died behind the line. Until we get a consistent/clutch 3pt shooter and a dominating inside presence, we are always going to be mediocre. I guess Parsons is going to be this years’s Werner…. enough bricks to make a clubhouse.

  14. CH says:

    Charles – you hit on a key point. Walker would rather shoot or drive for a contested layup than pass the ball. He’d also rather dribble for 25 seconds and then get a turnover. The next game you watch, just focus on him for about 5 minutes and you’ll see where, what I believe, is a major source of UF’s problems. His attitude is horrible, he’s selfish, and he makes way too manymental mistakes.
    Wilbelkin is getting a lot of playing time and hopefully could push walker to the bench by next season.

  15. Charles says:

    CH – oh I have given up on Walker not being turnover prone. I would’ve just hoped that by now we could run a better fast break.

    I think by end of the year Wilbekin and Walker will be splitting starter’s minutes.

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