TALLAHASSEE — Jacob Kurtz was just trying to make a play.
With the game against Florida State tied at 63-63 with three seconds left on the clock, the senior walk-on watched FSU guard Devon Bookert’s shot land short.
But when Kurtz went for the rebound to bring the game into overtime, he tipped the ball into the basket and sent the Seminoles (8-5) off with a 65-63 victory in Donald L. Tucker Center.
“I’ve been in a lot of games, and I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “My heart goes out to him because he really tried to make the right play.”
Kurtz finished the contest with a game-high-tying eight rebounds — including the game-sealing tip-in — and provided numerous hustle plays for the Gators in the loss.
“If it wasn’t for (Kurtz), we wouldn’t have been in the game,” Donovan said. “He did a lot of great things.”
Florida (7-5) had the opportunities to win on Tuesday.
Sophomore point guard Kasey Hill led the Gators with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and Dorian Finney-Smith put out 14 points of his own.
But with a season-high 17 turnovers and a second consecutive slow start, the deficit became too much to overcome.
“There’s just way, way too many mental breakdowns in the game,” Donovan said, “and these guys, they need to learn how to win.”
But in a battle where 68 points were scored in the paint, Donovan wanted to see more production from some of his bigger players.
6-foot-8 forward Alex Murphy — who started in favor of freshman Devin Robinson — scored a mediocre 5 points on 2-of-5 shooting, while center Jon Horford managed just 4 points and four rebounds while turning the ball over three times. Neither player broke the 20-minute mark on Tuesday.
“Need to get more out of those guys being upperclassmen,” Donovan said. “Not so much scoring but just being a rock — emotionally, mentally, physically just out there.”
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Jacob Kurtz dribbles the ball during Florida’s 85-47 win against Yale in the O’Connell Center.
