KeVaughn Allen had very little time.
The Gators’ men’s basketball team trailed the Ole Miss Rebels 76-73, and Allen had just 8.8 seconds to go the length of the court and get a three-point shot up.
He hadn’t hit from beyond the arc in the 30-plus minutes before then.
But he quickly launched the ball toward the hoop and watched it go in as time expired.
The Gators bench erupted with overtime just ahead. The crowd burst into a piercing roar.
It was that kind of game. And it was exactly the kind of game Florida needed.
The Gators topped Ole Miss 90-86 in overtime, a victory they desperately needed on their resume with just 11 games left in the regular season.
Eleven of Allen’s 21 points came in the second half. And in addition to his game-tying three at the end of regulation, he scored four overtime points and had a possession-saving dive for the ball that showed the exact aggression that coach Mike White has wanted from him all season.
“Growth,” coach Mike White said of Allen’s late-game heroics. “Because he hasn't always been that confident. He’s a senior, midway through his senior year, and he wants it more offensively. He’s embraced being a senior (and is) a talented scorer, what we need. He’s playing well.”
It was a back-and-forth affair from the very beginning.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 4-0 lead but missed its next four shots, which allowed a 7-0 run by the Gators. Florida held Ole Miss to 37 percent shooting and 1-for-9 from three-point range in the first half.
Sophomore forward Dontay Bassett’s impact won’t show up in the stats, but his aggression on defense in the first half was a big reason Florida carried a 33-30 lead into the break.
The Gators have been a team predicated on the three-ball and defensive efficiency all year, and both of those motifs appeared in some form on Wednesday.
Freshman Noah Locke hit six three-pointers on the night, including a three-pointer to open scoring in overtime. Locke also hit a pair of clutch free throws late in the extra period to give the Gators a two-possession advantage, and he led the team in scoring with 22 points.
It has usually been the offense’s inability to match the intensity on the defensive side that has doomed UF this season. But Florida shot 49.2 percent on the night (better than it has in its past two games) and 50 percent during overtime. And it was the Gators’ defense that faltered down the stretch and allowed the Rebels to stay close.
Senior Kevarrius Hayes, one of Florida’s best defenders this season, was hit with his third foul early in the second half and went straight to the bench. And Bassett had to leave the game shortly after to be checked by the trainers. The 6-foot-8, 270-pound Isaiah Stokes was the only big man left for the better part of the second half
Ole Miss took the lead with both Bassett and Hayes still on the bench, taking advantage of Florida in transition. The Rebels went on an 8-0 run after trailing by seven to take a 50-49 lead with 11:29 left in the game.
But 40 minutes wasn’t enough in a contest that saw 17 lead changes.
Florida’s three starting freshmen in Locke, Andrew Nembhard and Keyontae Johnson, combined for 24 second-half points (49 total) to propel the Gators to their fourth conference win.
“We talked in the locker room after (the game) about how this should bring some momentum into Kentucky,” Locke said. “Everyone needs to come out and do their job. Coach told us to enjoy the win, it’s definitely a big win. We have to stay poised and come out the next game because it’s a quick turn. We have to come out ready to play.”
Follow Alanis Thames on Twitter @alanisthames and contact her at athames@alligator.org
Senior guard KeVaughn Allen scored 21 points with five assists in the Gators' 90-86 overtime win over Ole Miss.
