Florida had chances to win on Tuesday night but ultimately couldn’t get a stop when they needed it and because of some defensive lapses they fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 71-68 in yet another one-possession game they are getting known for losing over the past few seasons. The Gators had a lucky break down 68-66 with 13 seconds left when an Andrew Nembhard 3-point attempt was blocked by Abdul Ado but the ensuing rebound was thrown away by Aric Holman into the awaiting hands of Noah Locke who tossed in a short floater to tie the game. Unfortunately, the next play was a straight-line drive by Quinndary Weatherspoon who blew by Locke on the perimeter and got to the left hand side of the basket for a layup and some contact from Kevarrius Hayes resulting in an and-1. The inability to get that stop with under 10 seconds left was a pill tough to swallow as this was a game the Gators almost stole.

Players Of The Game

Lamar Peters was getting everything he wanted against the Gators in the first half going for 16 points in the first 20 minutes. Though he was quieter in the second stanza he had some clutch assists in big moments, mostly off his ability to get into the paint at will and drop off passes to cutters. KeVaughn Allen lead the way for the Gators with 17 points and though Andrew Nembhard struggled at times with 6 turnovers and some ill-advised shots, he finished with an impressive 13 points and 8 assists.

Breakout Performance

I have wanted more minutes for Keyontae Johnson for some time now and this was the night he finally got a major role. Playing a season-high 25 minutes he was excellent on both sides of the floor and two 3-pointers near the end of the first half helped erase an 8-point Mississippi State lead and kept Florida in the game. Using his athleticism to battle on the glass, 2 of his offensive rebounds turned into 2 assists by quickly passing the ball out and generally speaking he made a lot of winning plays tonight. He hit 3 3-pointers in catch and shoot situations and had a dunk soaring through the lane that I’m not sure anybody else on the team could have executed. Adding in that Keith Stone had 0 points and Jalen Hudson had 3 on 1-8 shooting, I’d say you can expect a healthy dose of Keyontae Johnson moving forward.

3-Point Defense

It always seems like if a player gets a wide open three then he’ll have the confidence to hit a tough three and boy, was that ever true tonight. In the first half Michael Okauru went soaring by Lamar Peters unnecessarily while closing out, allowing him to take a warm-up three that fell easily. On the next possession, Peters pulled up a contested three and hit it. Then in the second half KeVaughn Allen did the same thing on a Tyson Carter 3-point attempt, flying into the first row on a pump fake so that Carter could hit an easy 3. On the next possession, Carter pulled up from 27 feet with a defender in his face and hit it. That’s two defensive errors that in my mind turned into 12 points. TWELVE. It’s those lapses that give opponents confidence and it hurt the Gators tonight.

Final Thoughts

This game came down to needing to get a stop and the Gators couldn’t do it in the clutch. They had chances to ice the game but could never keep Lamar Peters or Quinndary Weatherspoon in front of them and it either lead to layups at the rim or easy kick-outs to open shooters. On a night where the Gators were probably good enough offensively to win it hurts that they couldn’t get stops when they needed too and it hurts to drop another one-possession game. The poor play from Keith Stone and Jalen Hudson also hurt and I think it’s going to lead to something a little bit crazy. Next game could likely see three freshmen starting in Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke, and Keyontae Johnson. Those are some of the best players right now and if the upperclassmen aren’t going to play like upperclassmen then there could be more close games lost.