When the final buzzer sounded on the Class of 2011’s Senior Day, four different Gators had secured the ideal endings to their home-court careers.
The trio of Alex Tyus, Vernon Macklin and Chandler Parsons scored in double figures, while Adam Allen saw his first minutes of the season and had the privilege of running out the clock as Florida clinched at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship.
The No. 14 Gators celebrated their four seniors in nearly perfect fashion Tuesday night with a 78-51 win over Alabama (19-10, 11-4 SEC) on Tuesday in the O’Connell Center.
“I don’t think it could’ve been scripted any better,” UF coach Billy Donovan said.
With the win, the Gators secured at least a share of their first SEC championship since the 2006-07 season with the Crimson Tide and gained sole possession of the East title.
Florida can win the title outright with a victory over Vanderbilt or an Alabama loss to Georgia on Saturday.
“I couldn’t be any happier and more proud and more excited,” Donovan said. “There hasn’t been a lot of SEC championships in Florida basketball history and for Chandler and Alex and Vernon to have a piece of that … I’m just so happy for them.”
UF’s three senior starters combined for 50 points and 26 rebounds, nearly topping Alabama’s totals of 51 and 29 by themselves. Parsons led the way with a season-high 19 points and 11 boards.
“I couldn’t think of a better ending,” Parsons said. “It was awesome. It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Macklin also had one of his strongest games of the year, finishing with 19 points and six rebounds. The senior played 27 minutes before he and Parsons checked out for the final time with 1:23 remaining, waving to the crowd as they went to the bench.
“I didn’t want the clock to run out,” Macklin said. “I wanted to play as long as we could. I didn’t want to leave that floor tonight.”
Although the team’s focus remains on Saturday’s game and the SEC and NCAA tournaments, the senior class is happy to have cemented a part of its legacy.
“We’re really excited that we left something behind that everybody will always remember,” Tyus said.
Florida ran away with the win behind a dominant 48-21 second half that Donovan said was as good as any UF has played all year.
The Gators started the game just 3 of 19 from the field but shot 70.3 percent over the final 29:13. They experienced a similar jump from beyond the arc, hitting eight of their final 11 after missing their first 10.
Florida even stepped up its defense in the second half, holding the Tide to just 28.1 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes.
One senior who got to end his career on an unexpected high note was Allen, who saw his first action since his freshman season when he checked into the game with 25 seconds remaining.
Wearing a bulky brace on the left knee that has sidelined him the last three seasons, Allen took a pass from Casey Prather with 20 seconds left, dribbled up the court and ran out the clock on his playing career.
“The adrenaline was pumping, and I couldn’t stop smiling,” Allen said. “Great way to go out. A storybook ending to a great season so far.”
Florida senior center Vernon Macklin dunks the ball during the Gators’ 78-51 victory against Alabama in the O’Connell Center on Tuesday night. Macklin and Chandler Parsons led the team with 19 points.
