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Gators feeling blue

CREIGHTON 83, UF 82 (2OT): Defensive and mental breakdowns end Gators' season at hands of underdog Bluejays.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 16, 2002

[Times photo: Jim Damaske] Creighton's Tyler McKinney exults as UF's Brett Nelson (10) and Justin Hamilton walk off in disbelief.

CHICAGO -- Probably everybody sitting in the United Center Friday afternoon knew the basketball was going to Terrell Taylor, including the Florida Gators.

And there was nothing they could do to stop him.

The 6-foot-3 junior guard leaped over Brett Nelson and hit a 22-foot jumper with two-tenths of a second left to lead Creighton to an 83-82 double overtime win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region.

Creighton (23-8) became the third No. 12 seed to knock off a No. 5 seed since the tournament began Thursday, the first time that has happened.

The nothing-but-net 3-pointer ended the game and a phenomenal second-half performance by Taylor, who scored 28, including a 3-point basket to send the game into the first overtime and the final five points in the second. He was 8-for-15 from 3-point range.

"Let me tell you the honest truth. Before today's game, I swear I watched a DVD of Michael Jordan," said Taylor, who was scoreless in the first half. "That just inspired me a lot because I've made a big deal about coming to the United Center and seeing the statue (of Jordan in front of the building) because I never saw it in person before. I made a big deal about being here in the city that Michael built basketball around.

"That shot just felt good. The whole second half felt good. I was just open, I got a good look and I just knocked it down."

Actually, Taylor just thought he was open.

"I was right in his grill, man," said Nelson, who finished with 13 points. "I was right in his face. You've got to give the kid credit. He hit a tough shot."

The loss might have been avoidable had the Gators (22-9) managed to avoid the pitfalls that plagued them late this season: mental lapses and missed opportunities.

With 24.4 seconds left and the score tied at 73 in the first overtime, Florida guard Justin Hamilton tripped and fell while bringing the ball down court.

Hamilton said he tripped over an official.

In the second overtime, Florida led 82-80 with 29.4 seconds left when sophomore guard Orien Greene was called for a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball near the top of the key. Florida had three timeouts left.

"I knew it was getting close and that's why I turned around and tried to call timeout," Greene said. "I didn't think it was a five-second count ... but it was."

The Gators still had an opportunity to pull out the win with nine seconds left, but after Hamilton tipped the ball away from Creighton, freshman David Lee barely missed keeping it inbounds, giving the ball back to Creighton and giving one last opportunity for Taylor.

"Our guys stepped up and made plays when they had to," Creighton coach Dana Altman said. "Terrell's performance in the second half and in the overtime was just unbelievable. Today was Terrell's day."

In the two overtimes, Florida was outscored 14-13 and, more telling, outrebounded 14-1, all while Creighton played without two of its best players. Center Brody Deren (six points, three rebounds) fouled out with 2:42 left in regulation and junior guard Kyle Korver (16 points, six rebounds) fouled out with 1:10 left in the first overtime.

The Gators shot 33 percent in the second half and were 8-of-22 from 3-point range in the game. Florida was outrebounded 48-39 and shot 20-of-29 from the free-throw line.

"I thought we competed well," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "We got beat by the 3-point line and lack of ability to hit free throws. We left a lot of points out there tonight."

Florida played much of the game without senior center Udonis Haslem, who played 21 minutes in regulation because of foul trouble. Haslem finished with 20 points and four rebounds, but he was 8-of-15 from the free-throw line, many of those misses down the stretch.

"Both teams made mistakes down the stretch; it just came down to who was going to make the final play, and they made it," Haslem said. "It has been a lot of different ways where we lost (close) games. This was just one of those nights where the guy was in a zone and the ball went in for him."

Florida led by by as many as 11 in the first half.

The game ended a tumultuous season for the Gators, who lost six of nine games decided by five points or fewer. Donovan wasn't necessarily surprised that Taylor's buzzer-beater was good.

"That's how we've lost the entire season," Donovan said. "Everybody's made (those type of) shots against us."

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