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Jalen Hudson put on his best performance of the season in his final game in Gainesville but it wasn’t enough as the #10 LSU Tigers escaped with a 79-78 overtime victory over the Gators.
Hudson scored 33 points on 11-for-20 shooting. The senior made a go-ahead three late in the 2nd half but Tremont Waters scored a game tying lay-up to send the game into overtime. Waters finished the game with 19 points and 6 assists on 8-for-16 shooting.
Javonte Smart contributed 15 points and 4 rebounds, while Emmitt Williams added 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Gators limited Naz Reid to only 9 points and 5 rebounds.
The Tigers absolutely dominated in the interior. They grabbed 20 offensive rebounds which led to 20 second chance points. LSU also scored 44 of their 79 points in the paint.
OVERTIME. LETS GO.#GatorsHoop pic.twitter.com/vyxk9TLdA5
— Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) March 7, 2019
A Tough Gainesville Farewell For Allen
It certainly wasn’t the senior night that KeVaughn Allen would have hoped for. The shooting guard struggled mightily against the Tigers.
In his last game in Exactech Arena, the senior only scored four points on 1-for-6 shooting. It had seemed like Allen was primed for a big game as he made the first basket of the contest. He proceeded to miss every shot from there on out.
Kevarrius Hayes played tough the entire night as he finished with eight points and 15 rebounds.
Even though the Gators are now looking at a two game losing streak, Hudson’s play down the stretch will be something that can help them in a big way in the SEC tournament and potentially in the NCAA tournament. Hudson had another opportunity at the end of overtime to be the hero as the Gators were down one with eight seconds remaining. Unfortunately he slipped as he was making his move, which resulted in the Gators not being able to get a shot off.
Coming into Wednesday’s game, Hudson’s season high point total was 17 against Vanderbilt. He scored 27 in the 2nd half alone against LSU. Hudson’s performance was the definition of carrying the load for your team. At one point he scored 27 of Florida’s 30 points.
What’s Next?
Florida’s next game will provide an incredibly difficult challenge as they will travel to Lexington to face the #6 Kentucky Wildcats.
Saturday’s match-up against the Wildcats will be the regular season finale. Tip-off from Big Blue Nation is at 2 pm. A live telecast can be seen on CBS. The game can also be heard on 98.1 FM ESPN Gainesville and 850 AM WRUF.
That's the final.#GatorsHoop pic.twitter.com/tE7K8B4MLv
— Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) March 7, 2019
