TAMPA - Erving Walker staggered off the court, hands covering his face, practically inconsolable.
With the five seconds left on the clock and the Gators down 3 points, the 5-foot-8 guard took a pass from Nick Calathes and put up what would have been the game-tying shot.
But the freshman was blocked by Auburn's Quantez Robertson as the buzzer sounded on the game and most likely any hope UF had of sliding into the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn (22-10, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) held on to top UF (23-10, 9-7 SEC) 61-58 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Walker, tears streaming down his face, had to be helped off the court by teammates Walter Hodge and Allan Chaney.
"I told him it was not his fault," Hodge said.
Walker scored 14 points on the night and made several critical baskets as the Gators tried to rally from behind down the stretch.
"It hurts," Walker said. "I wanted to win. That was a big game."
As he was sitting alone in front of his locker just minutes after the game, the pain was still fresh in his voice. His face was still drenched by the tears.
"I know he cared," Donovan said. "He made some plays that kept us around in the game. You know, if it wasn't for a few of the shots he made, we wouldn't have been in that position."
UF got one of its most productive games of the season from center Alex Tyus, who scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
But the sophomore's strong play down low wasn't enough to overcome the rest of the team's poor shooting.
The Gators finished the night shooting just 36 percent from the field.
Calathes was once again a shell of his usual self, scoring 7 points and committing four turnovers.
UF will now have endure a nerve-racking 48 hours as they wait to see of they will be included in this year's NCAA Tournament field.
A win over the Tigers would have likely put them in, but now the Gators are probably heading for a first-round bye in the NIT.
"Honestly I don't know. We just have to wait," forward Dan Werner said. "We obviously didn't do enough. We could have put ourselves in, if we would have won this tournament."
