ATLANTA—For the second straight day, the Gators entered halftime
trailing and facing elimination from the Southeastern Conference
tournament.
And for the second consecutive day they survived and rebounded over
the final 20 minutes, earning a date with Kentucky for the SEC
Tournament Championship.
Ignited by 33 second-half points from the guard tandem Kenny
Boynton and Erving Walker, No. 12 Florida (26-6, 13-3 SEC) beat
Vanderbilt (23-10, 9-7) for the third time this season, winning
77-66 Saturday in Atlanta.
Boynton and Walker opened the contest a combined 3-of-11 from the
floor, but they never lost their confidence.
And coach Billy Donovan never lost faith in them.
“If those guys tonight are playing tight and afraid to shoot the
ball and are worried about if they’re coming out of the game, we
probably don’t win,” Donovan said.
Throughout the season Donovan has allowed his guards to continue
shooting through slumps, and on Saturday he was rewarded.
After being shut out for the first 20 minutes, Walker scored 17
points in the second half, including nine over a 1:53 stretch.
“He gave us a spark,” Boynton said.
Boynton led the team with eight first-half points before raising
his game even further after the break, scoring 16 more.
The sophomore has scored 19 points per game over his last seven
contests and is averaging 22.8 in four career SEC Tournament
games.
“I’m taking good shots, not forcing anything,” Boynton said. “When
I get in a rhythm, they just fall.”
The duo’s dominant second-half performance was critical after
Vanderbilt took a 36-28 lead into the intermission.
The Gators turned the ball over 11 times over the first 20 minutes,
leading to 18 Commodores points.
Vanderbilt’s 4-for-17 outside shooting, including a 1-of-7 mark for
John Jenkins, was the only thing keeping the game close.
“If Jenkins makes a couple threes … you start talking about a real
serious margin,” Donovan said. “We probably really dodged a bullet
in the first half.”
And once again the Gators turned it around in the second period,
outscoring Vanderbilt 49-30 to come away with the win.
Donovan attributed the comeback to Florida’s defense, which held
the Commodores to just 29 percent shooting in the final 20
minutes.
Jenkins recorded only 10 points in the game due largely to Boynton,
who was matched up on the SEC’s leading scorer for the majority of
the contest.
“My job tonight was to come out and try to take him out of the
game, and I think I did a great job of that,” Boynton said.
While Jenkins and the Commodores struggled from behind the
three-point line, the Gators thrived.
Florida connected on 11-of-21 shots from outside, the best it’s
posted — both in makes and percentage — this season.
The Gators now set their sights on today’s 1 p.m. matchup with
Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final.
Florida has split its two matchups with UK this season, most
recently falling 76-68 on Feb. 26 in Lexington.
“We’re a great team, they’re a great team, so it’s going to be a
dogfight for forty minutes,” senior Chandler Parsons said.
