Nick Calathes drove down the lane, put up a pass so high that only Alex Tyus could get to it and brought down the house.
The sophomore's alley-oop pass with just over eight minutes left in the game not only provided UF (18-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) with a highlight-reel moment in their 83-57 win against Georgia (9-11, 0-5 SEC) on Wednesday night in the O'Connell Center; it put an exclamation mark on a career night for Calathes.
The point guard scored 20 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 10 assists on his way to the second triple-double of his career.
"I just try and fill the stat sheet up," said Calathes, who stopped to sign scorecards for fans following the game.
Calathes now owns two of the three triple-doubles in school history.
His first came during last season's NIT win against Creighton.
The other belongs to Corey Brewer, who accomplished the feat against Jacksonville on Dec. 18, 2005.
The crowd began counting down assists when it was apparent Calathes was closing in on the mark.
Fans let out a euphoric cheer when he found Chandler Parsons (12 points) for his 10th of the game with 4:40 to play.
UF coach Billy Donovan called a timeout on the Gators' next possession, and Calathes walked off the court to a standing ovation.
"I'm glad I wasn't aware he had nine assists, or I might have botched that layup," Parsons said.
The forward said he didn't realize Calathes was close to a triple-double until he saw the scoreboard after his basket.
"The kid can't jump over a newspaper, but he had 13 rebounds tonight," Parsons said.
It was the Gators' 11th straight win against the Bulldogs, who have lost their last seven games and are still without a win in conference play.
UF had the game in hand well before Calathes neared his historic night. The Gators went on a 20-9 run to close out the first half and took a 42-30 lead into halftime. The Gators opened the second with an 8-2 run and never looked back.
Unlike Parsons, junior Dan Werner was well aware of his teammate's accomplishment.
"I saw when he had like seven assists and I was like, 'Wow, Nick's about to get a triple-double,'" Werner said.
Call it superstitious, but the Gators were careful not to mention the numbers to Calathes before he had secured his final three assists.
"You don't want to talk about that kind of stuff," Werner said.
After struggling in recent weeks to shoot the ball following an avulsion fracture on his right middle finger - when a part of the bone tears away from the main mass of the bone - Werner scored 11 points and knocked down three 3-point baskets.
"I just concentrated a bit more tonight," Werner said. "I took my time. It had nothing to do with my finger."
UF had four players finish in double figures, including center Alex Tyus, who ended the night with 18 points.
Georgia swingman Terrance Woodbury was held to only 7 points.
