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Ice-Cold Gators Manage Victory

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By ANDY STAPLES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

JACKSONVILLE - Billy Donovan glanced at his stat sheet early Saturday evening and searched through some of his most painful memories.

"I don't think," the 12th-year University of Florida basketball coach said, "I've ever been a part of a worse shooting night by a team since I've been here."

Donovan spoke those words matter-of-factly, without even a tinge of disgust. Because while his Gators may have shot 20 percent for a half and 25.5 percent for the game, Donovan couldn't hide his pride at the way they scratched their way to a 52-49 win against Georgia Southern at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

For the first time in their brief tenure together, the young Florida players overcame adversity to win. In their only other opportunity, the Gators (10-1) collapsed in a loss to Florida State on Nov. 23.

Even though forward Dan Werner missed several layups in Saturday's first half, the sophomore kept fighting for rebounds and kept attacking the basket. Instead of going into a shell, Werner took over early in the second half and finished with a career-high 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Though guard Nick Calathes committed five turnovers, he also grabbed 11 rebounds and made all 11 free-throw attempts, including a pair to give Florida a one-point lead with 34.1 seconds remaining and another pair to stretch the lead to three with 17 seconds remaining.

"We got a good win," Calathes said. "It wasn't those free throws. It was an all-out battle in the second half."

The Gators missed 13 of their first 14 shots and made only six of 30 in the first half. But, thanks to their defense, they never trailed by more than 11 and trailed only 27-18 at the half. After watching the Eagles swat shots by Florida post players Marreese Speights and Alex Tyus in the first half, Donovan screamed in the locker room for his players to attack the basket.

Werner got the message. He scored Florida's first seven points, including four on free throws after drawing fouls on aggressive drives. Later, he made a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Florida a 46-43 lead - the Gators' only previous lead was 2-0 - with 6:29 remaining.

"I had to knock it down," said Werner, who later blocked GSU guard Willie Powers' (17 points) 3-point attempt as time expired.

Donovan can't be sure what the Gators will take away from Saturday. He hopes they understand why they won, and he hopes they can use the lessons they learned as the schedule gets more difficult in the coming weeks. Werner believes the Gators got the message.

"It's really important," Werner said. "You find out more about yourself when you have tight games."

INSIDE THE GAME

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Florida F Dan Werner scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

STAT OF THE GAME: Of the 24 shots Florida missed in the first half, 13 were from within 10 feet of the basket.

TURNING POINT: With 11:07 remaining, Werner found F Chandler Parsons for a layup that tied the score at 37. The Gators had trailed by as many as 11.

UP NEXT: Florida hosts Charleston Southern on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com.

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