Unthinkable success in Gainesville for Vols

Buzz Peterson was right.

An 83-76 overtime upset of Florida Wednesday night was definitely the best thing that has happened to Tennessee this basketball season.

C.J. Watson's only field goal of the game, a turn-around jumper, broke a 76-76 tie and the Vols scored the final seven points to notch a road win that was unthinkable 11 days ago.

"It's an emotional win, I know that,'' said an emotional Peterson.

"You come in and beat Florida in their home place after what we've been through These kids are unbelievable.''

The same kids that got embarrassed by Vanderbilt on Jan. 8, have upset Mississippi State, taken South Carolina to the buzzer on the road and, now, beaten the Gators in the O'Connell Center for only the second time since 1991.

It was on this floor last January, most of these same kids were blown out by 38 points, the worst loss of the Peterson era.

"We knew it was on us to prove to everyone else we could still win,'' said Watson after the Vols improved to 10-7, 3-2 SEC.

A crowd of 11,545, roaring during the final minutes of regulation as Florida (11-4, 3-1) overturned a 10-point UT lead, ended up as silent as a funeral.

"We noticed how really quiet they were as Scooter (McFadgon) was shooting those free throws,'' said UT's Brandon Crump, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. "This is probably the best road win I've ever had in my whole time here, beating a team like Florida that doesn't lose at home.''

McFadgon applied the clincher with four free throws in the final 13 seconds to finish with 23 points.

Freshman Chris Lofton, clearly unruffled by his first trip to the O-Dome, matched a career high with 22 points.

Lofton was 6-of-10 from 3-point range. He hit one trey to open the overtime and then hit another one after two David Lee free throws to give the Vols a 76-72 lead to protect.

"That was huge,'' said UT's Dane Bradshaw. "Just like at the beginning of the game, he got the crowd out of it.

"That's exactly what Chris did with his 3-point shooting. The crowd doesn't faze him at all.''

Another Lofton trey triggered an 11-0 run that gave the Vols a 55-45 lead with 8:06 left in regulation. It was still 66-59 with 2 1/2 minutes to play.

But Anthony Roberson led the Gators back, hitting a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left to force overtime at 70-70.

If the Vols were demoralized, it didn't show.

"We had been beating them the whole game,'' said McFadgon, "so we said, 'Five more minutes,' We just had to go out there and play like we'd been playing.''

Roberson finished with 26 points, but attempted 26 shots. He was 0-of-3 from 3-point range in overtime.

"I can't fault Anthony Roberson,'' said Florida coach Billy Donovan. "Without Anthony Roberson at Auburn and Vanderbilt, we're not 3-0 coming into this game.''

Freshman Corey Brewer's steal and layup forced a 76-76 tie. That's when Watson, who had busied himself fending off Florida's defensive pressure rather than scoring, chose a timely moment for his only bucket.

He stopped and hit a turn-around 17-footer over former Maryville High School star Lee Humphrey with 1:47 to play. The Vols then survived four scoreless Florida possessions.

Tennessee made only nine turnovers in 45 minutes, shot 50 percent from the field and held Florida to 42.4. All of which helped overcome a 42-30 Gator rebound advantage.

"After that Vanderbilt game,'' said Peterson, "we talked so much about playing with passion. If you're going to do something, you might as well give it your all.''

Asked if it was his biggest road win at UT, Peterson said it was:

"I think so, because we beat a class program, one of the hottest teams in our conference.

"It says a lot about our guys, to keep their heads up and keep fighting.

"We've lost some games we shouldn't have lost. This makes up for a lot of it.''

Notebook: Major Wingate made his first start of the season, the 16th of his career. Doug Shows, one of the officiating crew from the South Carolina, worked the game. The Rowdy Reptile student section was in form, taunting Bradshaw with chants of "Bridget's better.'' His sister Bridget played at Barry University in Miami. They also surprised Lofton in warm-ups by mentioning his mother's name. "I didn't like that,'' Lofton said. "I don't know why they were talking about my mom. I was a little offended by that.'' Watson's parents attended and, unlike Georgia, made it through the whole game. UT athletic director Mike Hamilton was also on hand.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.