RALEIGH, N.C. — With Florida down by two points and only two seconds remaining in overtime, Chandler Parsons pulled down a rebound off a missed free throw, took one dribble and let the ball fly just before the final buzzer sounded.
Parsons said he doesn’t usually take three-quarter-court shots in practice — unlike some of his teammates — but his heave found the bottom of the net, sending the Gators into a raucous celebration on the floor of the RBC Center as UF prevailed 62-61 against North Carolina State on Sunday.
“I feel like someone’s about to pinch me right now, and I’m gonna wake up from a dream,” Parsons said. “I’ve never had this feeling in my life, and I’m just glad I could step up for my team and knock it down.”
UF (11-3) had a dismal shooting performance from beyond the arc against NC State (10-4), going just 3 of 24 from 3-point range, but the shots fell when they were most important.
Freshman guard Kenny Boynton hit a leaning 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to pull within two, and sophomore point guard Erving Walker drained four free throws in the final seven seconds.
The Wolfpack had plenty of chances to put the game away after jumping out to a 53-48 lead that held for nearly half of the overtime period. But they failed to connect on five free throws in overtime, including the final one by guard Farnold Degand, whose miss fell right into Parsons’ hands for the last shot.
“We’re very, very fortunate to win. It was one of those shots where there’s nothing diagrammed, there’s no play, there’s nothing like that,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “It was just a guy who took the ball, and you talk about strange things happening. If the ball bounced anywhere except where it bounced, maybe a different guy shoots it.”
With the victory, the Gators will enter their Southeastern Conference schedule on a three-game winning streak despite a disastrous start to their break.
Florida has gone 3-3 since Dec. 9, losing three straight to Syracuse (85-73 on Dec. 10 in Tampa), Richmond (56-53 on Dec. 19 in Sunrise) and at home against South Alabama (67-66 on Dec. 22). The three-game skid knocked the Gators out of the top 25, where they enjoyed a brief stay at as high as No. 10.
Despite struggling with a multitude of injuries and illnesses, UF bounced back from the tough string of losses with a 76-60 win against American and a 79-38 rout of Presbyterian, both in the O’Connell Center.
With only sophomore center Kenny Kadji still seriously injured — he has a herniated disc in his lower back — and an emotional win to cap off the break, the Gators will move on to start their SEC schedule this weekend against Vanderbilt.
Donovan said his team needs to play defense like it did against NC State in the second half, when UF allowed only 19 points, to find success in the SEC. However, he said the Gators also can’t afford to shoot like they did against the Wolfpack.
“When you start getting into the conference — I’m not trying to put pressure on our guys, but you’ve got to make some shots,” Donovan said. “It’s really, really hard for our team — for any team — when you’re shooting 12 percent. There’s been a lot of games where we’ve had these kinds of shooting performances.”
