Chandler Parsons can’t help but feel a little lucky.
Less than three weeks after hitting a 75-foot game-winner at N.C. State, the junior forward nailed a three-pointer from the left wing as time expired 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.”
After the 21-footer found nothing but net, Parsons ran down the court before being mobbed by his teammates, eventually finding himself buried at the bottom of a dogpile for the second time this month.
The Gators (14-5, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) needed Parsons’ buzzer-beater to hold off the Gamecocks (11-8, 2-3 SEC), who took a 56-55 lead with five seconds left on a layup by 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.
UF coach Billy Donovan said he worked in practice on late-game situations, like the one the Gators faced after Downey’s layup, setting up his team to run the length of the floor and get a shot up with 10 seconds remaining.
It didn’t work as well in practice as it did against the Gamecocks.
“Erving Walker three times in a row was pulling up and trying to take jump shots at the end of the clock,” Donovan said. “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 being the team’s hottest shooter in conference play, Walker took the quick inbounds pass from Dan Werner, sped down to the free-throw line, drew the defense and dished it off to a wide-open Parsons.
“That was an unbelievable shot but an even better pass,” Parsons said.
Parsons missed his first three shots from beyond the arc on the night, but he said the last one felt good as soon as he let it go — unlike his other last-second shot 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.”
Starting for the third-consecutive game in place of Werner, Parsons 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, Boynton drew a shooting foul on Gamecocks guard Ramon Galloway. The freshman went to the line and drained all three free throws, giving the Gators 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,” Donovan said. “That says a lot about him as a player, his focus and what kind of player he is.”
