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Parsons Makes Amends

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By MIKE DiFERDINANDO

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 26, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A sleepless night for Chandler Parsons led to a long day for the Commodores.

The sophomore scored a career-high 27 points and shot 7-for-8 from 3-point range as No. 24 Florida beat Vanderbilt 94-69 on Sunday in Memorial Gymnasium.

Parsons' missed free throw in the final seconds of UF's loss to South Carolina cost his team a win.

Sunday, he led the Gators (17-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) to their biggest of the season.

"When you have the rhythm going, and a little momentum is going your way, it's pretty easy," Parsons said. "It feels good to come into a hostile environment, on the road, and come away with one in a must-win situation."

When the Gators returned home from Columbia, S.C., a little after 2:30 Thursday morning, most of Parsons' teammates went to bed.

He spent the night in the UF practice facility trying to shoot away the memory of his mistake.

"He went from a kid on Wednesday in the locker room crying his eyes out, to the best game of his career," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "I tried to explain to him that's how fragile all this stuff is. In one game you can go from the lowest point of your basketball career to an extremely high moment."

UF went 1-for-3 from 3-point range in the second half against South Carolina. Parsons opened the game against Vanderbilt (12-7, 1-4) by making four in a row.

"I think Chandler has a great opportunity to grow from this," Donovan said. "You talk about the emotional roller coaster that he's been through from Wednesday to Sunday. It's a lot. We'll see how he handles this."

Parsons, who seemingly couldn't miss Sunday, has struggled to shoot the ball all season.

Coming into the game, he was shooting just 26.8 percent from 3-point range.

"Chandler is one of the best shooters in the country. He's just been in a slump," UF sophomore Nick Calathes said. "I told him he's thinking about it too much and to just shoot the ball the way he has been and they would fall."

The Gators broke the school record for 3s in a half when Calathes (15 points) hit the Gators' 12th of the game with the buzzer sounding just before halftime.

UF went 1-for-15 on 3s in last year's 61-58 loss to the Commodores in Nashville. This time around, the Gators lived from behind the arc, going 15-for-25.

"We have a lot of guys who can shoot the 3," freshman guard Erving Walker said. "When we get good looks, we expect to knock them down."

Walker scored a career-high 17 points.

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