Florida Gators
LSU
Men's Basketball Loses Late Lead, Falls To LSU
Saturday, February 14, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Matt Walsh tied a season high with six three-pointers and scored 24 points, but it wasn't enough as No. 20 Florida lost a late lead and fell to LSU by a score of 73-70 Saturday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators had a chance to tie the game with 4.4 seconds remaining, but Christian Drejer's half court three-point attempt sailed wide as the clock ran out. Florida (14-7 overall, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) led for the bulk of the second half until LSU (17-4, 7-3) went on a 10-0 run with four minutes left in
the game, turning an eight point deficit into a two point lead with 1:33 left to play.
"I thought the difference today was probably our inability to get a stop," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "Today was similar to the rest of the season. In the last seven to eight minutes, we can't stop anybody. That's on me as a coach."
Anthony Roberson added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Gators, while David Lee chipped in with 11 points. Jaime Lloreda led four Tigers in double figures with 19 points.
A trey by Walsh with 4:24 remaining in the game gave Florida an eight point lead, but LSU's Tack Minor drained a three with 4:00 left to ignite LSU's 10-0, which ended with a pair of free throws by Darrel Mitchell with 1:33 left and the Tigers out in front, 68-66.
Adrian Moss made one of two free throws at the 1:09 mark to cut the deficit to one at 68-67, but Lloreda hit a basket with 42.9 seconds to push the lead back to three.
Drejer missed a 10-foot jumper on Florida's ensuing possession before LSU's Xavier Whipple was fouled and made one of two free throws to give the Tigers a 72-67 advantage with 12.1 seconds left. Roberson then sank a three-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining to bring the Gators within two at 72-70.
Roberson fouled Lloreda on the inbounds play with 4.4 seconds left, but Lloreda missed the first free throw before making the second to give LSU a 73-70 lead before Drejer missed the game's final shot.
"We have had some nice wins, but winning at particular times in the season becomes more significant than others," LSU coach John Brady said. "And for us to come here and get this win, as Florida needed to win with their tough schedule the rest of the way out, we took their best shot at home and were able to win
it."
LSU scored the first six points of the game and led for a majority of the first half before the Gators went on a 12-0 run with 4:01 left to take their first lead of the game. Roberson had five points in the stretch, while Walsh's trey with 2:11 left gave Florida a 31-29 advantage.
The Gators burst out of the gates in the second half, turning a one-point halftime lead into an eight-point advantage by scoring the first seven points of the half, including five from Walsh as Florida led 40-32 with 18:32 left to play.
The two teams seesawed from there until LSU went on its game clinching run.
Florida returns to action when the Gators travel to Georgia Tuesday, Feb. 17 for a 9 p.m. tipoff. The game will air live on ESPN.
