Tennessee Volunteers 104, Florida Gators 82: a perfect finish to an imperfect game

82	Points	104
28/52 - 54%	Field Goals	35/71 - 49%
5/17 - 29%	3-Point FGs	13/29 - 45%
21/27 - 78%	Free Throws	21/30 - 70%
31 (6/25)	Rebounds (Off-Def)	39 (17/22)
10	1st Half Fouls	10
15	2nd Half Fouls	17
25	Total Fouls	27
4	Steals	14
5	Blocks	2
17	Assists	27
20	Turnovers	9
17 / 20	Assist/Turnover	27 / 9
9	Bench Points	19
6	Second Chance Points	15
8	Points Off Turnovers	26

Well, it wasn't perfect, and for most of the night, it wasn't pretty, but the finish, the finish was fantastic (video link).

The Abomination sprinted out of the gate, racing off to a 16-3 lead in the first four minutes. By 14:24, the lead was 21-10, and it looked like we were overmatched, but over the next four minutes, the Vols went on a frantic run of their own and tied the game at 30-30. The teams then traded leads until halftime, and the Gators went into the break up 48-43. We were in for a fight.

In the second half, the Pantheon gradually chipped away at the lead and finally went up 53-52 at the 16:02 mark on a Discombobulator three. For the next ten minutes, the rivals competed not only against each other, but also against the officials, who were hell bent on setting some sort of record for most whistles in a game. In the end, the stripes had called 52 total fouls and sent Duke Crews to the bench with the distinction of being the first Volunteer to foul out all season.

After ten minutes of sloughing through the quicksand, the Vols were finally able to extend the lead to double digits at 84-72 on yet another of the Discombobulator's six threes. Tennessee then put the hammer down, outscoring the Gators 20-10 in the last six minutes or so.

Chris Lofton tore it up most of the night, finishing 7-13 on field goals, 6-11 on three-pointers, a perfect 6-6 on free throws, and adding five steals and two assists to his game-high 26 points. Ultimate Blender Smith and Pest Smith each combined for another 23 points.

This was a very dangerous game for the Vols. Florida was fast and motivated, and the no one really knew what was going to happen with the roles reversed for the first time in who knows how long. When it looked like Tennessee was going to get blown out early, Pearl made the right adjustments, the Vols stormed back, and ran away with it in the end. No, the game wasn't perfect, but the finish was.