Freshman forward Devin Robinson awoke Florida’s hometown crowd with an alley-oop off an assist from Kasey Hill, which followed a steal in the paint from Michael Frazier II.
Robinson’s play cut LSU’s lead to just two points with 8:32 left in the first half.
From that point on, the game could have been UF’s for the taking.
But neither Robinson as an individual nor the Gators as a team rose to the occasion.
Instead, the Tigers did.
LSU (14-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated Florida (10-8, 3-2 SEC) 79-61 in the O’Connell Center on Tuesday night.
The loss snapped Florida’s 20-game home SEC win streak, dating back to March 4, 2012.
By the end of the first half, the Gators were behind in most aspects, including the 37-32 game score.
But an even greater discrepancy occurred from beyond the arc.
Florida failed to convert any of its five three-point shots in the first half, while LSU went five-of-eight from downtown.
"We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well from behind the three-point line in the game," coach Billy Donovan said.
"I was happy we were only down by five."
The Gators returned to the court in the second half with some answers.
In the opening minutes, Frazier knocked down a three-point shot, ending Florida’s drought and breaking the Gators’ all-time school record with 40 consecutive games in which he’s made at least one three-point shot.
Redshirt junior forwards Alex Murphy and Dorian Finney-Smith led Florida with 10 points each off the bench.
But the duo was no match for LSU sophomore forwards Jarell Martin and Jordan Mickey who scored 22 and 14 points, respectively. LSU had four players score in double figures on Tuesday.
"It was a game where we were going to have to try to provide help because I just didn’t think that we could guard Mickey and Martin one-on-one by themselves," Donovan said.
After scoring six points in nine minutes in the first half, Robinson went scoreless in the six minutes he played in the second half.
With just over seven minutes left in the game, the Gators got a surge of energy from each other and the crowd as Florida went on a seven-point run that consisted of two lay-ups and a three-point shot that cut LSU’s lead to 10 points.
The spark was not enough to ignite a comeback, however.
Florida trailed the entirety of the second half and was never able to break through.
"We didn’t come out with energy," said Finney-Smith, who began the game on the bench for the first time since UF’s loss to Georgetown on Nov. 26. "We didn’t fight."
Added Donovan: "(There was) not enough competitiveness, not enough fight. Definitely not enough at all."
Both the team and Donovan know there’s a lot of work to be done to recover from the 18-point loss.
"If we don’t come together and we don’t figure this out," Murphy said, "we’re going to keep getting embarrassed."
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
Billy Donovan looks down the court during Florida's 72-47 win against Mississippi State on Jan. 10 in the O'Connell Center. Florida dropped its first SEC home game when on Tuesday, losing 79-61 to LSU.
