Despite KeVaughn Allen’s career-best performance, a Florida State jump shot by Dwayne Bacon in the final seconds spoiled a late comeback by Florida on Tuesday night.
The Seminoles defeated the Gators 73-71 in the O'Connell Center in Florida’s first home loss of the season and Florida State’s sixth straight victory.
With five seconds remaining, after Florida had fought back to tie the game at 71, FSU’s Bacon made a jumper from the top of the key and the Gators could not convert on the ensuing inbounds play.
Allen was the lone bright spot for the Gators (8-4). The freshman had a monumental game, shooting 10-of-18 for a career-high 32 points, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
His point total was the fifth-best by a true freshman in program history.
“He was unbelievable,” coach Mike White said of Allen. “For whatever reason, he’s playing with a lot more confidence and we were very fortunate he had such a huge game to keep us in it. He’s got an extremely bright future for us.”
Besides Allen, Florida’s offense struggled mightily against the Seminoles (10-2). It wasn’t necessarily for a lack of opportunities, but for a lack of conversion.
The Gators shot just 40.0 percent from the field, including 16.0 percent (4-of-25) from downtown and 65.5 (19-of-29) percent from the charity stripe. Dorian Finney-Smith and Kasey Hill each finished with 10 points on a combined 6-for-18 shooting performance, including Finney-Smith’s 1-for-5 outing from three.
Unlike UF, FSU’s offense was balanced and consistent.
Florida State received an efficient shooting performance from Bacon, who went 9-of-17 for 24 points and shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
The freshman led the Seminoles on offense, who shot 10-for-24 from three and had four scorers in double figures.
Tuesday’s loss marked the second consecutive year in which the Gators have fallen to the Seminoles on a last second basket, following last season’s loss in Tallahassee which snapped Florida’s five-game winning streak over FSU. Tuesday night was also the first time Florida State defeated Florida in Gainesville since Nov. 23, 2007.
Next, the Gators will begin Southeastern Conference play when they face Georgia at home on Saturday.
“We can’t just be average in a half defensively,” White said. “We’ve got to be elite in those categories and that’s what we continue to charge in this team, challenge them with.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
UF men's basketball coach Mike White reacts after a play during the first half of Florida's 89-42 win against Palm Beach Atlantic in an exhibition game Nov. 5, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
