There wasn’t much free-flowing offense for Tennessee and Florida in the SEC semifinals Saturday.
There were three technical fouls, one flagrant foul and lots of bodies banging in a hotly contested finish at the Georgia Dome.
The Gators came out of it with a 56-49 victory, a spot in the title game Sunday against Kentucky and more proof that they can grind when they have to.
“I do think team has a resiliency, a competitiveness,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “They battle. They fight. We are not perfect; we have flaws like every other team. But when I walk off the court with these guys, I never feel like they didn’t get after it and compete.”
The Gators (31-2) needed plenty of resolve to outlast Tennessee (21-12).
The Gators limited Tennessee to 14 points after halftime, including one field goal goal over the final 12:15. The Volunteers still had a chance to win late, but fell apart amid a flurry of fouls, turnovers and technicals.
Florida, shaky at shooting free throws as a team, made nine of 10 attempts over the final four minutes.
“It was a hard-fought game; both teams played at a high level,” Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said. “It came down to making plays down the stretch, and they did it. We had a couple costly technicals that shifted the game.”
Tennessee forward Jeronne Maymon was called for a technical foul at a critical point of the game.
With the score tied 45-45 and 4:39 to go, Maymon was called for a personal foul on a loose ball. He then was whistled for technical foul for his reaction to the call.
That added up to five fouls for Maymon, who had 10 points and nine rebounds. The Gators made all four free throws.
Martin said the officials didn’t offer an explanation for the technical foul.
“He didn’t use any curse words,” Martin said. “Maybe his tone and his approach and body language caused him to get the tech. I watched his lips, and nothing derogatory was said.”
The Vols came back to tie the score again at 49-49. But Florida center Patric Young scored on a hook shot, and Gators guard Michel Frazier collected steals on Tennessee’s next two possessions.
Florida’s Casey Prather added two free throws for a 53-49 lead with 1:21 to play. Tennessee missed two 3-point attempts in the final minute.
The Gators came back to win after trailing 35-25 late in the first half.
“I feel like we’ve been in every type of situation this year,” Florida guard Scottie Wilbekin said. “I told the guys at halftime we’ve been in this situation before and we know what it takes to win in the second half. As long as we come out and play the way we know we can, we’ll be fine.”
After halftime the Gators figured out a way to slow Jordan McRae, the SEC’s fourth-leading scorer, while also limiting Maymon and Jarnell Stokes in the post.
When the Gators doubled Stokes and Maymon in the first half, the Vols swung the ball around to McRae. The Gators rotated to McRae, only to have him slither into space for mid-range jump shots or driving scores.
In the second half, Florida’s full-court pressure defense finally flustered the Vols, and Young was more assertive guarding the interior. McRae, Stokes and Maymon combined for only four field goals after halftime.
“I could feel it that they were going to have a difficult time scoring, especially the way Scottie was guarding McRae and how fast our double teams were coming in the post,” Young said.
Young finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Wilbekin scored 14 points and recorded four steals, Prather 12 points and five assists and Frazier had four steals.
The Vols led 35-28 after closing the first half with a 12-7 run. Florida’s final 12 possessions of the period produced just two field goals and with three turnovers.
The Gators forced four turnovers during a 10-2 run to open the second half and took a 38-37 lead, their first since 9-7. When Tennessee came back to lead 43-38, the Gators turned up the pressure again during a 7-0 run that ended with Frazier’s steal and 3-pointer for a 45-43 lead.
Tennessee never regained the lead from there.
“It was a battle,” Young said. “We just had to go in there and be fearless.”
