Gators surrender lead, fall to Vanderbilt
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jeff Roberson scored 26 points and Riley LaChance added 21 as Vanderbilt rallied to its fifth straight home win with a 71-68 victory over Florida on Saturday.
LaChance’s layup gave Vanderbilt a 69-68 lead with 1:53 left as the Commodores (11-16, 5-9 Southeastern Conference) rallied from an 11-point secondhalf deficit.
Joe Toye nailed two foul shots to finish the scoring with 11 seconds remaining. He had 13 points.
Florida’s Egor Koulechov missed a chance to tie the score when his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim twice with six seconds left.
Keith Stone led Florida (17-10, 8-6) with 20 points and Koulechov added 14, including four 3-pointers. Jalen Hudson added 10 points for the Gators, who made only three turnovers and grabbed rebounds.
Powered by a 10-0 run midway through the first half, Florida took a 34-28 lead at the break.
Vanderbilt split two games with Florida, including an 81-74 loss in an SEC opener on Dec. 30.
Florida entered the game as one of only three SEC teams with a winning road record (4-3). No. 10 Auburn and No. 18 Tennessee are the others. The remaining 11 SEC teams were a combined 25-68, including Vanderbilt (0-9).
The Gators lost their second straight three-point game. Florida’s next game is at No. 18 Tennessee on Wednesday. 14 offensive