Coach Billy Donovan said he thought Florida played as well as it could play. It was still not enough. The Gators were so close. So excruciatingly close. But Tennessee flies back to Knoxville with a win. Florida is running out of chances to prove it's worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid.
JaJuan Smith had 16 of his team-high 23 points in the second half and Chris Lofton added 21 points as the two senior guards led fourth-ranked Tennessee to an 89-86 victory over Florida Wednesday night in front of 12,046 at the O'Connell Center.
The Gators, who have lost six of their last nine games, took a 13-point lead into halftime and led by as many as 16 but now face missing out on a 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Tennessee (27-3, 13-2 SEC) claims its first outright SEC regular-season championship in 41 years.
"We played as well as we could play," Donovan said. "Coming in, we had two really good days of practice. In the first half, we did a good job on Lofton and JaJuan Smith. They created a lot of shot opportunities with their size. They do it every game. That's a special, unique quality."
Lofton's 3-pointer with 8:18 left started a 14-0 run and cut Florida's lead to 69-68 after Tennessee chipped away earlier in the half. Smith's putback at 7:45 gave Tennessee its first lead at 70-69 and then he hit back-to-back 3-point shots. His second 3-pointer made it 76-69 with 6:41 remaining.
Florida's Nick Calathes, who finished with 24 points and nine assists, both game highs, was then called for a backcourt violation. Donovan was whistled for a technical foul while protesting the call. Lofton hit 1 of 2 free throws.
It looked like things were falling apart for the Gators akin to what happened on Feb. 5 in Knoxville when they took an early 13-point lead, a 4-point halftime advantage but were outscored, 60-34, in the second half and lost by 22 points. But this Florida team – maybe a month older and a lot tougher at home – bounced back and had chances to win.
"I thought we were going back that way again," Donovan said. "Our guys really rallied together. They fought back."
After sophomore forward Wayne Chism scored to make it 79-69 with 6:13 remaining, Calathes hit two free throws, sophomore forward Dan Werner and Calathes hit 3-pointers and Florida was back in it. Calathes hit another 3-pointer at 1:47 to tie it at 85.
Smith was fouled with 44.1 seconds left but missed both. On the second free throw, sophomore forward Tyler Smith slid into the lane, grabbed the offensive rebound and scored for an 87-85 edge. Tyler Smith finished with 13 points and eight rebounds and was the impetus behind Tennessee's comeback early in the half.
Sophomore forward/center Marreese Speights, who had 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, was fouled with 27.2 seconds left but missed the front end. He hit the second free throw to cut Tennessee's lead to 1. Chism, who entered the game as a 55 percent free-throw shooter, drained both foul shots with 18.5 seconds left to make it 89-86. He had 12 points.
Florida had enough time and Donovan said he elected to get the quick two, but the offense took a while to develop. Werner got the ball on the wing and could have taken the 3-pointer but decided to drive and with 7.9 seconds left was called for a charge. Donovan said on second thought, Werner should have taken the open 3-point shot. If Werner made it, the game would have been tied again.
"Dan probably should have taken that 3," Donovan said. "Seven seconds left on the clock, he had a pretty clear look at it. He wanted to drive and get the quick two. That was what the plan was to get the quick two. He over-penetrated and maybe should have taken what was available. It probably wasn't the best decision."
Still, the Gators found a way to stay alive. On Tennessee's in-bounds pass, freshman guard Jai Lucas deflected the ball off JaJuan Smith, it bounced off Tyler Smith, who was coming in from the baseline, and after the referees consulted, the ball was awarded back to Florida with 6.9 seconds left.
The Gators had one final shot. Calathes set up under the basket. The ball was entered to Speights on the wing. Calathes ran off the baseline and around Speights, who handed him the ball. The freshman guard fired the 3-pointer but Florida's final shot bounced off the rim. Tennessee escaped.
"We played a good team tonight and we fought," Calathes said. "We came up short and it hurts us. We're not proud of moral victories. We lost."
Junior guard Walter Hodge scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half but did not attempt a shot after halftime. Speights' corner jumper with 9:07 left before halftime gave Florida its biggest lead at 35-19.
Werner finished with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. The Gators (21-9, 8-7) finished 59.6 percent from the field, 10 of 21 from 3-point range and were 20-for-27 from the free throw line. They had 22 assists. Tennessee's J.P. Prince scored 10. Florida closes out its regular-season schedule at noon Sunday at Kentucky.