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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- There was no doubt Tennessee came to
play.
Isiah Victor had a game-high 22 points and C.J. Black hit the go-ahead free throw with 1:04 left in the second overtime as the Volunteers (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 Associated Press) won their school-record sixth straight SEC road game, 81-79 over No. 9 Florida.
|  | | Florida's Donnell Harvey, left, watches helplessly as Tennessee's Del Baker scores. |
"We hoped that we could really make this a strong game for
us," Tennessee coach Jerry Green said. "We knew it was not to be
easy. I think the big thing with Florida is that they have so much
ammunition."
Jon Higgins added a late free throw after Florida's Brett Nelson missed a 25-foot, 3-point attempt.
Donnell Harvey had 19 points for Florida, which had its 11-game home winning streak snapped.
"It was a really tough game," Florida coach Billy Donovan
said. "We just never got into the flow of the game. We weren't
very patient and we took some bad shots."
Higgins' 3-pointer made it 79-76 with 2½ minutes gone in the second overtime. Florida's Brent Wright got the equalizer with 1:27 left.
Tennessee took a 71-70 lead in the first overtime after Vincent Yarbrough hit two free throws. Harvey, who opened the initial extra session with a slam dunk on Florida's first possession and added
two free throws, hit one of two from the foul line to tie the game
at 71 with 30 seconds remaining.
"He (Harvey) was the only guy on our team tonight that played well," Donovan said. "Everyone else could have played better.
With a team as good as Tennessee, you've got to have more players
playing to their best ability."
Victor forced overtime with a baseline, turnaround jumper with three-tenths of second left that evened the game at 66-66.
Harvey scored from the paint with 55 seconds left, giving
Florida a 66-64 lead. The Gators had a chance to secure the win,
but Teddy Dupay missed two free throws with 21.6 seconds left.
Florida scored 14 unanswered points and took a 58-51 lead midway through the second half. The sequence featured Dupay's steal and lay-up, and a thundering slam by Kenyan Weaks.
Tony Harris ended a seven-minute Tennessee scoring drought with a 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to 58-54 with 7½ minutes left. Yarbrough's trey tied it at 58-58 two minutes later.
"Nobody panicked," Harris said. "I felt our guys gave the
extra effort that we needed to win down the stretch."
Victor scored 10 of his 11 first-half points over the final four
minutes as the Volunteers lead 38-37 at intermission.
Victor, who scored 14 straight Tennessee points, also had the first two Volunteer baskets in the second half.
Tennessee failed to capitalize on Florida's ice-cold shooting
during the opening 11 minutes of the first half. Despite hitting
just 4 of 19 shots, including 2 for 12 from 3-point range, the
Gators trailed just 13-12 with 9:19 left.
The Gators' long-range shooting awoke during the first half's
final four minutes as 3-pointers by Major Parker, Mike Miller,
Dupay and Justin Hamilton cut the Florida deficit to 34-33 with
just under two minutes remaining.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Tennessee Clubhouse
Florida Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Vincent Yarbrough slams down the missed shot.
avi: 721 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Donnell Harvey seals off the defender and slams it down.
avi: 636 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Donnell Harvey takes care of Matt Bonner's missed shot.
avi: 1052 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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