Alex Tyus, Florida Gators Win Outright SEC Regular Season Championship

After beating the no. 20 Vanderbilt Commodores (21-9, 9-7) 86-76 in Nashville, the no. 14 Florida Gators (24-6, 13-3) have won an outright SEC regular championship for the third time in school history.

The Gators previously won outright regular season championships in 1989 and 2007.

Florida, who was swept by Vanderbilt last season, returned the favor and swept the Commodores.

Vanderbilt took an early 25-18 lead after a thunderous dunk by junior guard Brad Tinsley with just under seven minutes to play in the first half.

The Orange and Blue cut the lead to one after two back-to-back three point shots from sophomore guard Kenny Boynton and senior forward Chandler Parsons.

A layup by Boynton and another three by the White Mamba gave Florida a 29-25 lead.

As the seconds in the first half wound down, Alex Tyus picked up a huge offensive board and made a nice assist to junior guard Erving Walker to give the Gators a 38-30 lead at halftime.

Walker’s layup capped a 19-5 run by Florida after Vanderbilt took a seven point lead.

The Gators kept momentum going early in the second half.

Florida opened a 44-31 lead after a tip in by Tyus on a missed free throw with 17:43 remaining.

Vanderbilt showed incredible resiliency, going on a 15-4 run to shrink the lead to 48-46.

Sophomore guard John Jenkins started the run by making a trio of baskets.

The Commodores cut the lead to two after a three by freshman forward Rod Odom and an and-one by junior forward Jeffery Taylor.

Florida held on to a 54-53 lead after Odom drilled an open jumper.

Both teams traded baskets until the turning point in the game.

Florida led by three when Jenkins was called for a foul, much to the chagrin of Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. Stallings ripped into the refs, and picked up a technical foul.

Boynton made both threes to give the Orange and Blue a five point advantage.

The Commodores were forced to burn a timeout after a layup by Tyus and a three by Boynton opened up a 65-54 lead with 8:01 left in the game.

With Florida up by nine, Boynton made a rare four point play, after being fouled on a three by Jenkins.

Vanderbilt went on a last ditch effort to get back into the game, and Odom nailed a jump shot to cut Florida’s lead to 77-72. But Vanderbilt was unable to get any closer, due in part to smooth execution and clutch free throws by Walker.

Defense failed the Commodores in this vital matchup. Although Vanderbilt shot 59 percent from the field, the Gators out-rebounded their conference nemesis 30-21.

All five starters scored double-digits for Florida.

The White Mamba finished with 13 points on 5-for-9 from the field and seven rebounds, but turned the ball over four times.

Tyus, who played one of his best games of the year, scored 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, dished out three assists and hauled in a game high 10 rebounds.

Senior center Vernon Macklin scored 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting, but failed to grab a single rebound.

Boynton tallied 17 points on 5-for-11 from the field (4-for-9 from three point range).

Walker was ice cold from the field. He scored 16 points on a 3-for-11 from the field and 0-5 from downtown. Walker managed to make 10-11 free throws.

Freshman center Patric Young gave the Gators solid minutes off the bench, finishing with 9 points on 3-for-4 from the field and five rebounds.

Jenkins led the Commodores, scoring 22 points on 9-for-15 from the field, and Taylor added 15 points in the losing effort.

Next week, the Gators will head to Atlanta for the SEC tournament.

On March 11, Florida will play the winner of the number four team in the West (Ole Miss) and the number five team in the East (to be determined) in the quarterfinals at 7:30 ET on the SEC Network.