Chandler Parsons is starting to feel a little lucky.
Less than three weeks after hitting a 75-foot game-winner at N.C. State, the junior forward nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Florida a 58-56 win against South Carolina on Saturday night in the O’Connell Center.
“I’m the most blessed player in this country, I swear to God,” Parsons said. “I just keep asking myself, ‘How does that happen to me?’ Honestly, I was just in the right place at the right time.”
The Gators (14-5, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) needed Parsons’ second buzzer-beater of the season to hold off the Gamecocks (11-8, 2-3 SEC), who took a 56-55 lead with five seconds left on a layup by South Carolina guard Devan Downey.
Downey, who led all scorers with 36 despite facing double teams throughout the night, raced the length of the court, blew by UF’s entire team and dropped in a tough layup off the glass.
But senior forward Dan Werner quickly threw the inbounds pass to Erving Walker, who ran down the court and dished the ball to a wide-open Parsons.
Parsons had been struggling from the field all game – he shot just 4 of 10 on the night, but he said his only three-pointer of the game felt good as soon as he let it go – unlike his other buzzer-beater this season.
“I’m not gonna say the N.C. State one felt good off my hands, but this one did,” Parsons said. “This one definitely felt good. No matter how many I miss, I’m gonna keep shooting. Feels good to finally knock it down.”
Parsons, who started for the third consecutive game in place of Werner, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the fourth double-double of his career while playing a team-high 36 minutes.
Three other Gators finished in double figures, led by Kenny Boynton’s 14 points.
Boynton shot just 5 of 13 from the field and 0 of 5 from beyond the arc, but he went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, including three clutch shots late.
Down 54-52 with 11 seconds to go, Gamecocks guard Ramon Galloway fouled Boynton while shooting a three-pointer. The freshman guard went to the line and drained all three, keeping the Gators alive with a one-point lead.
“One thing that’s going to be lost in this game is the fact that a freshman walked up to the free-throw line and made three free throws with 11 seconds to go down by two,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “That says a lot about him as a player, his focus and what kind of player he is.”
Donovan said he worked in practice on late-game situations like the one the Gators faced Saturday night, setting up his team to run the length of the floor and get a shot up with 10 seconds remaining.
“Erving Walker three times in a row was pulling up and trying to take jump shots at the end of the clock,” Donovan said. “I told him that’s the worst thing you can do in that situation. You have to drive the ball to the basket.”
Walker put Donovan’s advice into effect Saturday night. Despite coming off a hot shooting night and a career-high 27 points at Arkansas on Thursday and leading the team with three three-pointers on the night, Walker moved toward the basket, drew in the defense and freed up Parsons for the wide-open shot.
“That was an unbelievable shot but an even better pass,” Parsons said.
