ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – It wasn’t always pretty, but with tough defense, excellent free throw shooting and clutch plays down the stretch, Florida escaped with its biggest win in more than two years.
A fall-away 3-pointer from Erving Walker and two critical free throws from Dan Werner in the game’s final seconds led UF to a 77-74 upset of No. 2 Michigan State on Friday night in the semifinals of the Legends Classic.
“Michigan State is a great team and ranked No. 2,” Walker said. “We just wanted to prove to people we could be mentioned in the same breath as them."
The last time Florida (5-0) beat an opponent ranked as highly as MSU (4-1) was Nov. 29, 2002, when UF beat No. 2 Kansas 83-73. And not since the Gators won their second national championship in 2007 have Florida’s players and fans had such a reason to celebrate.
“After the FSU game, we felt good about ourselves. We knew we could play with anyone in the country,” said junior forward Chandler Parsons, who led UF with 14 points and hit four free throws in the last 3:28 to keep the game tied. “I think we got a good chance to prove it, and we’ve got a good chance to get better and move forward.”
Walker’s NBA-range 3-pointer over MSU guard Kalin Lucas, who led the Spartans with 20 points, put the team ahead 72-71 with 1:56 to go, and the sophomore point guard added three free throws in the final minute and a half to preserve the lead.
But it was Werner, the team’s only senior, who drained the last of the Gators’ 22 free throws on the night.
Playing in his home state in front of about 100 of his friends and family, Werner sank both shots with 17.3 second remaining to put UF ahead by three.
“It couldn’t have ended in a better way for Dan,” Parsons said. “We had our senior, our leader, and he really stepped up at the end of the game for us.”
Knowing the Spartans needed a 3-pointer on the game’s final possession, Florida defended MSU guard Durrell Summers’ two desperate attempts. On a night when the Gators forced 23 turnovers and constantly frustrated their opponent with a pesky full-court press and half-court zone, the team’s defense came through again.
Summers’ second attempt bounced off the rim and onto the court in Boardwalk Hall, and the Gators rushed to celebrate their unforeseen victory over one of the nation’s top teams at center court.
"I'm just so happy these guys could experience a night like tonight against a terrific team," UF coach Billy Donovan said.
Donovan said his team displayed a level of maturity absent from the team the last two years, and the clutch plays by Walker, Werner and Parsons – three of his team’s leaders – showed just how far the Gators have come.
“That’s something we were really, really missing the last two years – that understanding what it’s about maturity-wise and really focusing,” Donovan said. “These guys have done a lot of growing and maturing, and I’m happy for them.”
Werner also praised the Gators’ poise under pressure but added that it will be Florida’s performance tonight at 8 against Rutgers, who defeated Massachusetts 83-77, in the finals of the Legends Classic that shows how far the team has really come.
“With what we’ve gone through the last few years, then now we’ve matured and grown up and come together as a team,” Werner said. “We’re really going to show how much we’ve matured tomorrow. We can’t sit back. We’ve got to come out there firing again.”
