ST. LOUIS — Jaylen Barford grabbed his 10th rebound, securing a double-double between a pair of Gators under the rim.
The senior guard heaved the ball past half court and into the waiting arms of his backcourt partner, Daryl Macon.
Macon then tossed the ball to a streaking Daniel Gafford on the left elbow. Uncovered, Gafford dribbled once, took two steps and rose up.
Delighted Arkansas fans stood and cheered as Gafford punctuated the Razorbacks’ upset of No. 23 Florida with a soaring windmill dunk.
The Gators fans who made the trip to St. Louis, Missouri, weren’t as happy.
Sixth-seeded Arkansas rode the hot hand of Barford and a timely second-half run to defeat third-seeded Florida 80-72 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Friday night.
Gators sophomore forward Keith Stone’s 22 points and efficient shooting — 8 of 10 from the field and 4 of 5 from long range — weren’t enough to stave off the Razorbacks.
“He’s still growing,” White said. “We think he’s got a chance to be a very good player.”
UF’s offense went cold sporadically throughout the game, while its defense struggled on the glass. The Gators (20-12, 11-7 SEC) were outrebounded 43-28, giving up 14 offensive boards.
“I thought they were the aggressor from the tip,” Gators coach Mike White said. “They pounded us on the glass.”
But early in the first half, Florida looked like it was taking control of the game. Guards Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov made a pair of three-pointers in the first 90 seconds, putting the Gators up 6-0. Center Kevarrius Hayes and guard KeVaughn Allen then both scored close to the basket, keeping Florida in front 10-7 about five minutes into the contest.
Barford, a First Team All-SEC selection, scored his first points of the game with a three-pointer of his own, knotting things up at 10. He finished with 27 on the night. Barford poured in 28 when the Razorbacks played the Gators on Jan. 17, although Arkansas fell 88-73 on Florida’s home court.
“(Barford) scored on whoever was guarding him,” White said. “Two games this year he dominated us."
Koulechov responded to Barford’s three-pointer with his second triple of the game, putting UF back on top. Up 13-10, the Gators saw a three from Chiozza and a layup from Stone increase its lead to 18-10 with 12:49 left. Arkansas chipped away at Florida’s lead from there, outscoring the Gators 10-3 over the next 4:04. That run shrunk UF’s advantage to 21-20.
Okauru put the Gators up 29-22 after hitting a three with about five minutes remaining, but the Razorbacks scored the last eight points of the half and headed to the locker room up 30-29.
Neither team could create much separation to start the second half. Both squads traded baskets and a three by Stone tied the game with 12:02 remaining.
The Razorbacks (23-10, 10-8 SEC) took control after that with an 18-4 run that put them up for good, turning a 46-46 game into a 62-48 rout in just over six minutes of action.
Arkansas held a double-digit advantage until Chiozza converted an and-one opportunity with 2:18 on the clock, pulling Florida within eight. But the Razorbacks quickly extended the lead back to 11, going up 69-58 with 1:28 to go.
The two teams combined for 22 points in a frantic final minute as Florida tried to mount a comeback. Allen had a chance to cut the deficit to six points with 1:05 to go. He was fouled on a three-point attempt from the left corner and headed to the line for three shots. Down 69-60, he missed two of his three free throws to leave Arkansas with a comfortable eight-point lead to eventually end the game.
The Gators will find out in two days where they’re seeded for the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee will release the 68-team bracket on Sunday at 6 p.m. and the first round of play begins Thursday.
Florida will look to build on last year’s Elite Eight run as the final leg of the season presents itself.
“We’re about to move into the last chapter,” White said.
Follow Andrew Huang on Twitter @AndrewJHuang and contact him at ahuang@alligator.org.
Guard KeVaughn Allen scored 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting in the Gators' SEC Quarterfinals loss to Arkansas Friday night.
