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(4) Tennessee 89, Florida 86

1 2 T
#4 TENN (27-3) 42 47 89
FLA (21-9) 55 31 86

Final

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Replay on ESPN360
9:00 PM ET, March 5, 2008
Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Gainesville, FL

Smith helps No. 4 Vols overcome big deficit to beat Gators

Vols Escape Gainesville With Win
Photo Wire

Florida coach Billy Donovan doesn't agree with a call during the first half of Florida's basketball game against Tennessee on Wednesday, March 5, 2008, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

· View photo | View gallery
Team Stat Comparison
TENNESSEE FLORIDA
Points 89 86
FG Made-Attempted 33-63 (.524) 28-47 (.596)
3P Made-Attempted 9-20 (.450) 10-21 (.476)
FT Made-Attempted 14-19 (.737) 20-27 (.741)
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) 26 (1/0) 18 (2/0)
Largest Lead 10 16
Game Leaders
 TENNESSEEFLORIDA
PointsJ. Smith 23N. Calathes 24
ReboundsT. Smith 8M. Speights 7
AssistsT. Smith 3N. Calathes 9
StealsR. Smith 1W. Hodge 1
BlocksT. Smith 1M. Speights 3
 · Team Stats: Tennessee | Florida
Game Flow
2007-08 Season
DATEGAMELINKS
Feb 5, 2008 @TENN 104, FLA 82Recap | Box Score
· Mar 5, 2008 TENN 89, @FLA 86Recap | Box Score
Next 5 Games
TENNESSEE (ET) FLORIDA (ET)
03/09 SCAR 2:00pm
03/09 @UK 12:00pm
03/13 ALA 7:30pm
 · Complete Schedule: Tennessee | Florida
SEC - East Standings
TEAMCONF W-LTOTAL W-L
#4 Tennessee14-228-3
#16 Vanderbilt10-625-6
Florida8-821-10
Kentucky12-418-11
Georgia4-1213-16
South Carolina5-1113-17
 · View expanded standings

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- After JaJuan Smith hit a second straight 3-pointer, he backpedaled to the other end of the court yelling, "They're done. They're done."

He was right about the game -- and maybe Florida's season.

Smith scored 23 points, Chris Lofton added 21 and No. 4 Tennessee overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Gators 89-86 on Wednesday night.

The Volunteers (27-3, 13-2) set a school record for victories, clinched their first Southeastern Conference regular-season title since 1967 and may have knocked the two-time defending national champions out of the NCAA Tournament picture.

"I'm starting to think Coach (Bruce) Pearl is a genius," Smith said. "I just figured it out. He told us before the game that Florida was going to come out hot. ... He told us, 'Handle it. They're not going to keep shooting the ball that well.'"

The Gators (21-9, 8-7) made their first nine shots, were ahead 35-19 midway through the first half and looked like they might get their biggest win of the season.

But Tennessee turned to Smith and Lofton down the stretch, and their stars delivered. The duo combined to shoot 15-of-26 from the field, including 8-of-15 from 3-point range.

"Those two guys, they do it every single game," Gators coach Billy Donovan said. "It's a special and unique quality that they have to really be able to make extremely difficult shots and I thought that was the difference in the game in the second half."

It may have been the difference in Florida's postseason, too. The Gators have lost six of their last nine and might need to win the SEC tournament to earn a 10th consecutive NCAA bid.

They also might want to avoid facing Tennessee in the conference tournament.

The Volunteers overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the Gators 104-82 in Knoxville last month and dug themselves out of an even bigger hole Wednesday.

Florida had two chances to send it to overtime, though.

Dan Werner committed an offensive foul on the first try. Then, Jai Lucas tipped the inbound pass off Smith's leg, which gave the Gators the ball back with 6.9 seconds to play.

Nick Calathes got the ball and took a deep 3-pointer that ricocheted off the back of the rim.

"That's a tall order to ask that guy to make that kind of shot," Donovan said.

Calathes led Florida with 24 points and nine assists, while Marreese Speights added 21 points and seven rebounds.

Tennessee, which has won four of the last five against Florida, started slicing into the lead after halftime.

Tyler Smith converted a three-point play, then made two spinning shots in the lane that helped the Volunteers trim it to 55-49. He finished with 13 points and eight boards.

Then Lofton and JaJuan Smith got hot from 3-point range.

Lofton's first 3, a wide-open shot from the elbow, made it 63-58. His second, an off-balance shot with a defender in his face, got it to 69-68 and started a 14-0 run that proved to be the difference in the game.

Smith's two 3s were equally impressive. After he gave the Volunteers their first lead of the game, 70-69, with a layup, he hit 3s on consecutive possessions. Both came a step or two behind the line and with a defender right there.

"Those guys made great shots," said Walter Hodge, who had 11 points in Florida's early run but was quiet in the second half.

Tennessee extended the lead to 79-69 on Wayne Chism's reverse layup, but the Gators got right back in it.

Werner and Calathes hit 3-pointers, then Werner added a floater in the lane that made it 83-81.

Hodge had a chance to tie the game with two free throws, but missed the second.

The Vols looked like they might blow the lead again when JaJuan Smith missed two free throws with 44.1 seconds remaining. But Tyler Smith got the rebound and banked it in to put them back up 87-85.

Tennessee hung on from there.

"We know it means a lot for us down the road 10 years from now," JaJuan Smith said.


Men's Basketball Scores

Other Scores:

Wednesday, March 5th
3 Memphis 72 Final
Southern Methodist 55
4 Tennessee 89 Final
Florida 86
5 Duke 86 Final
Virginia 70
Penn State 41 Final
8 Wisconsin 77
25 Mississippi State 85 Final
16 Vanderbilt 86 OT
Minnesota 55 Final
17 Indiana 69
St. John's 55 Final
19 Notre Dame 68
Wyoming 61 Final
24 Brigham Young 78