Coming off their biggest win of the season, the newly-minted No. 19/20 Florida Gators were looking to continue the momentum just under two days later against the Jacksonville Dolphins at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL. Florida (8-3) instead proved that they were not up to the task and dropped a 71-68 overtime thriller to their in-state visitors.

The Gators began the game just like their last: slow and inefficient. Florida only posted six points in the first seven minutes of the game while simultaneously turning the ball over five times. They completed the first half with 13 turnovers and only shot 9-of-20 from the field, allowing Jacksonville (7-3) to take a 29-27 lead into the locker rooms.

UF looked like it was starting to turn things around in the second half as they went up a game-high seven points on a trey by junior point guard Erving Walker with 6:58 remaining. That advantage would be short lived, however, with JU putting together a 7-0 run to tie the game up at 56 just three minutes later.

Up two with the ball and 33 seconds left in the game, the Gators looked to close out the contest. Unfortunately senior forward Chandler Parsons turned the ball over near mid-court; Dolphins guard Ayron Hardy stole it and dunked it with 21 seconds remaining to force overtime..

Walker hit three of four free throws early in overtime to give Florida a 64-63 advantage, but a turnover in the backcourt by sophomore G Kenny Boynton allowed Jacksonville to take a 65-64 lead.

Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin knocked in a missed layup by Walker to put UF back up one, but four-straight free throws by JU G Keith McDougald would end up icing the game for the underdogs.

Though he scored a season-high 21 points and made 9-of-13 free throws, Walker missed a game-winner in regulation and game-tying shot in overtime for Florida. He also shot only 5-of-12 from the field and 2-for-6 from downtown.

Filling out the box score for the Gators with double-digit points were Macklin (13), Boynton (12) and senior F Alex Tyus (10). Macklin and Boynton combined to go 10-for-27 from the field, part of the reason why the team as a whole only shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59).

The Dolphins were led by McDougald’s game-high 18 points but were also fortunate enough to have an impressive showing from Hardy, who scored 12 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Jacksonville out-shot Florida from the field and downtown, but the Gators out-rebounded the Dolphins 42-30. UF turned the ball over four more times than JU, but Jacksonville fouled Florida twice as often (26-13), part of the reason the offense was so off-balance.

The Gators will try to collect themselves before facing Radford on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will air live on Comcast Sports South (check your local listings).

Tags: Alex Tyus, Ayron Hardy, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Jacksonville Dolphins, Keith McDougald, Kenny Boynton, O'Connell Center, Vernon Macklin

On the heels of an 85-67 road victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins (0-5) on Friday, the No. 13/17 Florida Gators basketball team has begun its season 8-0 for only the third time in school history. Four Gators scored in double figures on the evening with sophomore point guard Erving Walker leading the way with a team-high 18 points.

Freshman guard Kenny Boynton spread himself out all over the box score with 15 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals on the evening while junior transfer center Vernon Macklin had the best game in his short Florida career with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting (6-of-6 from the charity stripe) and three blocks. The Gators hit 12 three-pointers on the evening and were 60 percent from behind the arc as a team. Junior forward Chandler Parsons was 2-for-2, Walker was 4-for-5, senior F Dan Werner (13 points) was 3-for-5 and Boynton was 3-for-7 from long range.

For Jacksonville, F Ayron Hardy led the team with 16 points and six rebounds while G Travis Cohn added 15 points of his own. The Dolphins kept the game close throughout the first half, but the Gators pulled away to a nine-point halftime lead and kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the contest.

Florida won their first true road game of the season and improved to 7-0 all-time at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be held in the same location in March, and the Gators hope to return to one of their favorite places to play outside of Gainesville, FL.

The Gators three-game road trip continues on Thursday when they take on the No. 8/7 Syracuse Orange at the neutral site St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL, at 9 p.m. The game is part of the SEC/Big East Invitational and will air live on ESPN.

Volleyball in NCAA Tournament: No. 14/15 Gators volleyball (25-5) advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the 18th time in the last 19 years after defeating the Florida International Golden Panthers (32-4) 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-16) in second round action Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida out-blocked FIU 12.0-1.0 while being led by sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson, who recorded match-highs in kills (nine on .692 hitting) and blocks (seven). The Gators will face the winner of the State College, PA, subregional next Friday in the O’Dome.

Tags: Ayron Hardy, Cassandra Anderson, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, Florida International Golden Panthers, Jacksonville Dolphins, Kenny Boynton, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, SEC/Big East Invitational, St. Pete Times Forum, Syracuse Orange, Travis Cohn, Vernon Macklin, Veterans Memorial Arena, volleyball