Late dunk lifts Florida over Vanderbilt
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Devin Robinson scored 12 points and hit a two-handed dunk with 2.1 seconds remaining to give Florida a 50-47 win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.
The Gators (13-13, 6-7 Southeastern Conference) played without starters and leading scorers Michael Frazier II and Dorian Finney-Smith but still managed to shoot 36 percent from the field.
After Florida took a 19-12 lead with 8:37 left in the first half, Vanderbilt (14-12, 4-9) went on a 13-0 run to take a 25-19 advantage into halftime, with LaChance scoring six points off 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc. The Gators missed all 10 of their shots during that span.
After a slow second-half start, Florida found its flow.
Trailing 33-27 with 12:20 left to play, the Gators finished the game on a 13-0 run over 5:13 -- highlighted by Robinson's dunk giving UF its first lead of the half -- to pull ahead 40-33.
The Gators led down the stretch until Vanderbilt went on a 12-4 run to take a 47-46 lead with 43 seconds, but Robinson slammed down the dunk and Chris Chiozza hit a pair of free throws to seal it.
The win gave UF coach Billy Donovan 499 in his career
Freshman Riley LaChance led the Commodores with 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting -- including a 3-for-7 mark from three-point range.
TIP-INS:
Florida: The Gators used their 12th different starting lineup of the season on Wednesday and are 6-6 this season when debuting a starting lineup. The win snapped a four-game losing streak that started with Florida's 67-61 loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 3.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 0-6 this season in games decided by three points or less. Vanderbilt is 3-2 in the month of February after starting conference play 1-7.
UP NEXT:
Florida: at LSU on Saturday.
Vanderbilt: hosts Missouri on Saturday.