Gators avoid free (throw) fall in win over Texas A&M

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Freshman guard Chris Chiozza was pulled off the floor and planted on the Florida bench, but not because he had just missed five of six free throws inside of two minutes to help Texas A&M stormed back late from double-digit deficit to make it a game.

No, Gators coach Billy Donovan had gone to a 1-3-1 zone, opting for a taller lineup in an attempt to make the rallying Aggies work harder for a shot and use more clock. That's when Donovan went up to Chiozza and put some real talk to the rookie.

In recounting the final seconds of a 66-62 victory that UF fans -- and the UF bench -- probably felt would never end, the Gators clanked free throw after free throw, and Donovan said his exchange with Chiozza went something like this.

"Do you have any idea what your shooting percentage from the line is right now? How are you going to handle it when I put you back in the game? I hope they keep fouling you the rest of the game. I hope you have to go up there 30 times."

Not exactly a nurturing approach, especially in crunch time.

But this team doesn't need a light touch. It needs mental toughness and games like Tuesday night's provided that.

Painful as it was to watch, obvioulsy, it could have been worse.

After having a hand in his team's utter meltdown from the free-throw line -- 8-for-18 in the final two minutes and a numbingly awful 20 of 38 (that's 52.6 percent) overall -- sophomore point guard hit one of two with 6.3 seconds left to push the score to a two-possession count and allow the Gators (15-15, 8-9) to escape their O'Connell Center regular-season finale with a win that should have come much easier.

"Obviously, our free-throw shooting in the second half has been a real microcosm of our team; we're not a real mentally strong team," Donovan said. "I'm happy our guys were there. I'm happy Chiozza had to deal with that. At the end of the game, you can't just take point guards off the floor from a ball-handling standpoint. At some point, those guys have to make free throws. Calling it like it is, those guys felt a lot of pressure. That's what happened to our team this year. We have mental lapses."

In in this particular instance, he likened it to standing in public totally naked; nowhere to hide, everybody watching.

This time, the Gators prevailed in spite of themselves. still in uniform ... barely.

UF, mostly behind a bench that out-scored its A&M counterparts 33-11, used a 14-point run midway through the second half to open a 16-point with 8:20 to go. The margin was still 14 with two minutes left when the free-throw comedy show really began.

Up 59-45, the Gators bounced nine of their next 14 free throws (including five straight misses by Chiozza) as the Aggies (20-9, 11-6), fighting for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth, closed to 63-60 before Eli Carter hit two with 13 seconds to go.

At A&M's end, forward Jalen Jones hit a pair to get the margin back to three with 6.3 ticks left, when the Aggies fouled Hill, a dismal 44.7-percent free-throw shooter in Southeastern Conference play coming into the game.

Staring at a one-possession game, he missed the first.

"I know I've been terrible this year from the free-throw line, but I've been practicing and practicing to try to be better," Hill, who had four points to go with eight assists and just one turnover, said afterward. "All I was thinking about after that first one was that I had to make the next one."

And he did.

It was enough.

Junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench to score 12 points and grab seven rebounds before fouling out with 1:40 to go and his team up 12. Carter had 11 points, while freshman forward Devin Robinson and Chiozza both had 10.

Chiozza finished 4-for-12 from the free-throw line.

"I told Chris that [Wednesday] we're going to get in the gym and get up at least 300," Robinson said. "At least."

Texas A&M scored the game's first 10 points, but the Gators went on a 14-2 run to take the lead and hold it going into halftime by scoring the final six points, despite missing three free throws late in the period.

UF was up 33-31 at the 13-minute mark of the second half when Alex Murphy (9 points) sank two free throws and kicked in a 14-point run. He also hit a 3, just his sixth of the year, powered down a two-handed tomahawk dunk in transition and threw in an acrobatic reverse layup in traffic, accounting for half of the points in the spree.

"That was some great basketball," Hill said. "Maybe our best stretch all season."

Added Murphy: "It was offense that fed off our defense."

Also some of their best all season. When the two teams met Feb. 14 in College Station, the Aggies pummeled the Gators to the tune of 42 points in the paint. This time, A&M amassed just 22 points inside and shot just only 35.6 percent for the game, with guard Danuel House, the No. 4 scorer in SEC play at 17.2 points per game, going scoreless on 0-for-10 from the floor.

"Florida's defense was tremendous," Aggies coach Billy

Kennedy said. "It threw us out of our game."

The UF lead was a cushy 47-31 at the 8-minute mark when the Aggies started creeping back into things, yet it was still 14 when the masonry clinic opened at the 1:58 mark with a missed free throw from Hill.

The margin slowly and agonizingly began wasting away from there, a development the Gators had encountered this season, with three losses when up by double-digits in second halves, and another four when leading inside of six minutes.

"It's all a learning experience, being in these tough situations," Hill said. "All we can hope is to continue to be in these situations ... and hit those free throws."

It's a prospect Gator fans probably aren't brimming with the confidence about, yet one the coach is pining for.

Really and truly.

"They have to get a better understanding and concept of what goes into winning from a mental approach," Donovan said. "Clearly, from the free-throw line, their mental approach is not good at all. So now you have to battle, 'Oh my God, I just missed two free throws and I actually have to go play defense.' Then they get fouled again and it's, 'Oh my God, I have to go back to the free-throw line" and then "I just missed two more.' There's a toughness you have to have in those situations."

Florida is only guaranteed two more games this season; Saturday at No. 1, unbeaten and highly motivated Kentucky, and at least one next week in the SEC Tournament.

Who knows? If they're lucky, maybe the Gators will be fortunate enough to deal with the pressure a few more times.

Donovan can only hope.