Gators Fall to Texas A&M; Effectively End Chances for NCAA Tournament Berth

Following a timeout in its own end of the court with 14 seconds left, Texas A&M inbounded the ball looking to capitalize on another opportunity to reign as the victors over the Gators in round two of the SEC Tournament.

At the top of the key, Hassan Diarra came off a screen, caught the ball beyond the arc and fired it toward the basket as the clock ticked down. Bang!

Just like that, Florida fell victim to the unpredictability of March Madness, 83-80.

The game was a "two-hour microcosm of the entire season," head coach Mike White said postgame.

For 38 minutes of the contest, the Florida Gators stared at what looked to be the end to a rollercoaster ride of a season at the hand of Texas A&M.

Offensively, Florida failed to get into a rhythm due to the rare mixture of physicality and quickness the Aggies defense imposes on their opposition.

Defensively, the Gators provided no answer for the opposing big man for the second game in a row.

They were plagued by the production of Henry Coleman III inside, who totaled 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Aggies' controlled, slow-tempo attack.

However, as the time left in Florida's season began to tick under two minutes left in regulation, Mike White's team found a way to reconcile those glaring issues to put itself in a position to win down the stretch.

The Gators' comeback efforts were aided by fresh faces who have been overlooked at points this season.

Falling down by 16 in the first half, the Gators clawed their way back in on the back of Niels Lane, who posted a career-high in points (16) and had success crashing offensive boards with four (nine total) on an A&M team predominantly focused on halting Colin Castleton.

They entered the halftime break trailing 33-25.

The Aggies extended their lead back to double digits in the second half and kept the Gators at arm's length for much of the final 20 minutes.

Florida continued their offensive stagnancy, seemingly erasing themselves from contention down the stretch.

That was until Kowacie Reeves Jr. unleashed the scoring prowess he was praised for when rising from the high school to collegiate ranks.

Knocking down two free throws with 14:58 left in the game to put his first points on the board, Reeves started to become the main factor for Florida's scoring efforts.

He went on to lead all Gators with 21 points — including a crucial four-point play to cut the Aggies lead to one and a three-point bucket to send the game to overtime tied at 70.

Eighteen of his 21 points came during Florida's second-half comeback attempts. He also commenced scoring in the overtime period with a three-point play that gave UF its first lead of the contest and signaled the potential that the improbable comeback could be pulled off.

Florida traded blows with the Aggies for the final three minutes of overtime, living and dying by the performance of Phlandorus Fleming Jr.

His five points in the overtime period contribute to half of the Gators scoring, but an untimely foul call — made after late deliberation by the officials — on an inbound play to the sideline allowed Buzz Williams' squad to tie the game with 38 seconds remaining.

Failing to hit a three from the top of the key on the opposite end — wedging the ball in between the rim and the backboard — he was unable to reconcile the mistake on the defensive end despite his valiant efforts to carry the Gators to victory.

When the Aggies got the ball back with 14 seconds remaining, Diarra knocked down the game-deciding triple with just 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock to put the final nail in Florida's coffin.

The Gators season comes to a heartbreaking close — barring an invitation to the NIT — as the chances of a last-second NCAA Tournament berth diminish with the loss.

The Aggies, however, keep their postseason hopes alive and will be in action again Thursday at noon against the top-seeded Auburn Tigers.

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