Florida team managers forgot to pack Xaivian Lee’s jersey for the Gators’ pivotal visit to Vanderbilt.
But UF’s struggling shooting guard found his game to help deliver a 98-94 win against the No. 10 Commodores and finish a game on the road, where Todd Golden’s Gators have too often come up short against top competition.
Lee’s 3-pointer with 45 seconds gave No. 19 Florida (13-5, 4-1 SEC) a 95-94 lead and proved the difference in the Gators’ first win since 1968 against a ranked Vanderbilt team in Nashville, Tennessee.
Florida had let opportunities slip away on the road in narrow losses to Arizona, Duke and UConn, entering Saturday Nos. 2, 4 and 8, respectively, in the NCAA’s NET Rankings. Vanderbilt, sitting an SEC-best No. 11 in the NET, and 9-0 at home was the Gators’ next chance to pick up a big win away from Gainesville.
Saturday’s showdown featured many game-shifting moments, including 9-0 runs by each team during the second half. But neither team could establish a firm foothold in a hard-fought game featuring 17 lead changes and 14 ties,
Even after Lee’s 3, the Gators faced potential heartbreak.
Florida head Coach Todd Golden encourages the No. 19 Gators during a 98-84 win against No. 10 Vanderbilt Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
A turnover by Commodores (16-2, 3-2) on the ensuing possession ended with a Vanderbilt foul of Lee. Wearing a borrowed No. 99 jersey, rather than his customary No. 1, Lee missed the second of two free throws.
With a chance to tie the game, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner then missed a driving layup, allowing Florida preseason All-America power forward Alex Condon to ice the game with two free throws with six seconds to go and give him 16 points as one of give Gators in double figures.
Lee finished with a team- and SEC-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and had six rebounds, but the Princeton transfer shared the starring role with center Rueben Chinyelu.
The 6-foot-11, 265-pound center scored a career-high 20 points, including a possession featuring four straight foul shots for the career 62.7% free-throw shooter after a flagrant foul by Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-10, 265-pound center also had 10 rebounds, completing Chinyelu’s 10th double-double this season, as Florida held a 40-26 edge on the glass and 22-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Three other Gators scored in double figures, including 18 for Thomas Haugh and 16 for Condon, during Florida’s third win in four games against a ranked opponent.
Tanner led Vanderbilt’s five double-figure scorers with 20 points as the Commodores dropped their second straight game after a 16-0 start.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
