Florida Drops Overtime Battle with Mississippi State in SEC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Florida ran out of tune in the Music City.

Despite a strong second half that saw Florida climb out of a 10-point halftime hole, the Gators fell at the hands of Mississippi State in round two of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, 69-68.

A Niels Lane layup with 11 seconds to go in overtime gave the Gators what looked to be an improbable victory in the SEC Tournament until Mississippi State big man Tolu Smith found a crease on the inside to silence the Florida crowd with four seconds remaining.

Myreon Jones' final second heave rattled off the side iron to seal the deal on a Bulldogs' victory.

Mississippi State rode the hot start of guard Shakeel Moore to jump in front by as many as 14 on the Gators. Florida's shooting woes supplemented his offensive production to get the Bulldogs the sizable lead.

Despite Florida's lapses, which included going 1-for-13 from the field down the stretch of the first half before Alex Fudge cut the deficit to ten with 14 second remaining, the Gators remained in the game by anchoring down on the defensive end.

They allowed 14 points in the paint through the first 12 minutes of play, a trend that saw Mississippi State impose their will off the dribble and with Smith.

However, in the final eight minutes, the Gators pushed the Bulldogs' attack away from the basket to allow just two points in the paint for the remainder of the period. Chris Jans' squad saw their field goal percentage drop from the 50% mark to 38.7% at the half.

They sat just two percentage points above Florida, who knocked down 36% of its attempts.

The second half opened with a spark of momentum from Jason Jitoboh. Working on the right block against Smith, the Gators' big man spun away from the basket to put up a shot with a soft touch off the glass. He worked through contact, drawing a foul to send him to the line for an And-1 opportunity.

Jitoboh converted.

That cut the Mississippi State lead to single digits for the first time since 9:46 in the first half.

Florida then went on a 13-2 run over 4:18 to climb back into the game. It culminated in an Aleks Szymczyk three-point make just offset from the top of the key to give the Gators their first lead since 2-0 in the contest with 14:31 remaining.

Mississippi State weathered the storm out of a timeout to kickstart back-and-forth basketball. Both squads traded blows to take, and retake, the lead, while neither team led by more than three until there was 2:30, when Smith returned to his dominant ways on the interior, getting to the free throw line with ease and connecting on easy buckets.

He finished with 28 points.

The Gators' chances looked bleak when the Bulldogs went up 57-51 as Florida struggled to shoot the basketball. However, UF secured multiple loose ball offense rebounds on the ensuing possession, giving them three looks from the perimeter to cut the deficit back to one possession. Myreon Jones eventually connected on a crucial triple to push Florida back within three.

A Fudge block on the ensuing defensive possession forced a shot clock violation to get the ball back in the unit's hands.

Jones' late second-half magic from outside continued as he knocked down his third triple to tie the game at 57. He scored the Gators' final nine points in regulation.

The overtime period contained the aforementioned run from UF to close, but it proved to be in vain as the 4.5-point favorites closed as victors.

Florida will now await postseason invitation to determine how it finishes the 2022-23 season.

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