In what was one of those typical February SEC games between two desperate teams, Florida missed out on a chance to get an important win for their NCAA chances.
Three made free throws by Wade Taylor with 19 seconds to play gave Texas A&M a one-point lead and Florida missed out on a chance to win it at the end when Phlan Fleming missed on a pull-up jumper and Niels Lane deflected the ball out of bounds with less than a second to go.
The Gators were trying to come back from a double-digit deficit for the fourth time this season and had the look of a team that finally figured out that this was an important game in the last 10 minutes.
Despite having four scoring droughts that lasted a total of 19:21, Florida fought back from down 11 to take a four-point lead on Fleming’s three late in the game at 55-51.
But Quenton Jackson hit a tough floater in the lane and – after a UF miss – Taylor was fouled by Fleming on a three-point shot attempt.
“He was closing out hard on a good shooter,” said UF center Colin Castleton.
The three free throws ended up winning the game for an Aggies team that had lost eight straight. And an opportunity to steal a win on the road evaporated when Fleming’s shot clanged off the rim.
A&M is now 16-10 overall and 5-8 in the SEC for the season. Florida’s second straight loss dropped the Gators to 16-10 and 6-7 in league play.
More importantly, Florida missed out on a chance to get a Quad 1 win that may not have held up as a Quad 1 but was still an opportunity for a team seeing a season slip away.
“We had our chance to get that win and didn’t secure it,” said Castleton. “I just want to win. I hate that we lost.”
It was fitting that the game ended on a missed shot since the two teams combined to miss 79 shots from the field.