Tyus, Parsons help UF reach SEC quarterfinals

<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Florida's NCAA Tournament hopes hinged on a win on Thursday evening against Auburn.</p><p>Behind a dominating night from the frontcourt, the Gators delivered.</p><p>Junior forward Alex Tyus had a season-high 24 points and junior Chandler Parsons added 21, allowing Florida to hang on down the stretch and beat the undersized Tigers 78-69 in its opening-round Southeastern Conference Tournament game.</p><p>The Gators (21-11, 9-7) snapped a three-game losing streak and will face Mississippi State tonight at 7:30 in a quarterfinal matchup. A win tonight against the Bulldogs would likely cement an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. </p><p>"They are a hard team to guard and a hard team to prepare for in one day," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.</p><p>Getting past Auburn wasn't easy. Florida led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Auburn cut UF's lead to 68-63 on a jumper from Lucas Hargrove with 1:58 remaining. But Parsons came up big on a hustle play off a missed Kenny Boynton 3-pointer to allow UF to keep possession of the ball, knocking the ball out of bounds off Hargrove. Parsons then scored on a drive to the basket with 57.3 seconds to extend the lead back to 70-63.</p><p>Florida then closed the game out with six straight free throws and a breakaway dunk from Parsons.</p><p>"I think it shows how tough-minded we are," Parsons said. "When they made runs at us, we didn't hang our heads."</p><p>Tyus was the beneficiary of Florida's excellent passing inside, scoring six of his 11 baskets on dunks. Tyus was one point short of his career high of 25 points against Missouri-Kansas City in November of 2008.</p><p>"We just did a really good job exposing what they were doing on defense," Tyus said.</p><p>Overall, Florida's frontcourt scored 26 of its first 28 points and outscored Auburn 60-26.</p><p>"They picked us apart," Auburn coach Jeff Lebo said. "Tyus especially hurt us on the pick and rolls."</p><p>Sophomore guard Frankie Sullivan led Auburn with a career-high 27 points. But Florida held Auburn senior guard Tay Waller scoreless on six attempts from the floor. Waller, a 42 percent 3-point shooter, missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Overall, Florida did a good job guarding the 3-point line, holding Auburn to 4-of-25 from beyond the arc.</p><p>"Our guys did a pretty good job switching out on (Waller) and trying to take away his 3s," Donovan said. "And we tried to make him take some shots that were maybe out of rhythm."</p><p>Down 40-31 at halftime, Auburn started the second half on a 10-2 run, cutting UF's lead to 42-41 on a Lucas Hargrove putback. But Florida responded with a big flurry from Boynton, who hit three straight 3-pointers to extend UF's lead back to 55-43.</p><p>Florida began the game with excellent ball movement, scoring its 15 first-half baskets off 10 assists. Parsons made his first three 3-point attempts from the floor to give the Gators an early 18-10 lead.</p><p>In Florida's previous three games, all losses, the Gators fell behind by double figures in the first half.</p><p>"We came out aggressive and attacked the basket," Parsons said. "I had some open looks early and was able to knock them down."</p><p>Tyus then scored three straight inside baskets to extend Florida's lead to 28-14. But Auburn worked its way back behind Sullivan, who scored 12 first-half points.</p><p>Sullivan hit a 3-pointer to cut Florida's lead to 30-24, then made an inside layup to cut UF's lead to 37-31 with 1:28 left. But senior Dan Werner made an open 3-pointer, just his 4th in 37 attempts in SEC play, to put Florida ahead 40-31 at halftime.</p><p>"That was a huge shot," Parsons said. "Vern slipped on a pick and roll and we were able to find Dan open in the corner."</p><p><i>Contact Kevin Brockway at 352-374-5054 or brockwk@gvillesun.com. Also check out Brockway's blog at gatorsports.com.</i></p>