Facing yet another must-score situation with the clock winding down, the Gators turned to the same man they have all season: Erving Walker.
Trailing by one with 20 seconds remaining, Walker received a pass from Alex Tyus and dribbled across half court.
The junior guard hesitated for a moment, crossed from his right hand to his left, split three Tennessee defenders and hit a lefty layup high off the glass, propelling the No. 17 Gators (20-5, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) to a 61-60 win over the Volunteers on Saturday night in the O’Connell Center.
“I was just trying to make the best play that was available,” Walker said. “When I went through the lane, the lane kind of opened up, and I saw I had to take this.”
Tennessee (15-10, 5-5 SEC) held a comfortable lead for the first nine minutes of the second half and had one last chance to win in the closing seconds, but Melvin Goins’ step-back three-pointer caught only iron at the buzzer.
“It’s a good sign when you can still win a game and play how we played today,” Walker said. “This definitely wasn’t our best basketball, but we were able to get a win, and any time we can string together wins in this league, it’s a great thing.”
Although Vernon Macklin was on the bench in the closing moments, Florida’s comeback would not have been possible without the senior center’s contributions.
Macklin was forced to sit due to foul trouble after just 1:39 of the second half.
Shortly after the senior returned to the lineup with 10:53 remaining, he recorded four points, a steal and an assist, igniting an 11-2 Gators run.
“That was huge,” Macklin said. “Coach (Billy Donovan) wanted us to bring the spark. He came to me at halftime and told me, ‘Let’s go, step up, be a man.’”
The senior attributed his most impressive play — a steal at the top of the key followed by a fast-break dunk — to observing Tennessee’s tendencies as he watched from the sideline.
The run Macklin sparked coincided with a rise in defensive intensity, as UF held UT to just 13 points in the final 10 minutes.
That included just one from Scotty Hopson, who had scored 21 prior to that stretch.
Hopson’s size, speed and quickness gave defenders Scottie Wilbekin, Chandler Parsons and Kenny Boynton fits all night before UF finally ratcheted up its defense to close the contest.
“It’s definitely tough trying to guard Scotty Hopson,” Boynton said. “He’s a driver and a shooter. When he jumps up for a shot, it’s like I’m not even there.”
Despite the win, Florida’s players came away from the game unhappy with their intensity level in the early going.
The Gators allowed the Volunteers to shoot 53.6 percent in the first half and turned the ball over 10 times, creating a six-point halftime deficit.
“Maybe these last two games, we’ve been kind of feeling like we’re going to get an easy win,” Wilbekin said. “But we pulled through in the end, so that’s all that matters.”
PARSONS HAMPERED BY INJURY: Parsons came into Saturday’s contest on one of the most prolific hot streaks of his career.
But he recorded just three points, three rebounds and four turnovers against UT as he dealt with a deep thigh bruise suffered when he collided with Tyus early in the game. Donovan said he will likely keep Parsons out of action until Thursday.
He added that he is “hopeful” the senior forward will be able to play in Florida’s next game Feb. 20 against LSU.
