Florida guard Mike Rosario (3) shoots Saturday over Alabama forward Nick Jacobs (15) during their NCAA colleg game in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville.NASHVILLE – Florida finally showed it can win a close game. All it takes is for senior guard Kenny Boynton to answer his coach’s challenge.
Held scoreless for the first 25 minutes, Boynton had 11 straight points during a critical 15-0 run Saturday as No. 13 Florida erased a 10-point, second-half deficit to beat Alabama 61-51 in a Southeastern Conference semifinal.
Boynton said he benefited from Gators coach Billy Donovan’s halftime message to him. The senior guard’s second-half surge helped Florida end its season-long frustration in close games.
“He challenged me to come out and play with confidence,” Boynton said. “Honestly he did challenge me, and I think I tried to step up to it.”
The top-seeded Gators (26-6) advanced to the championship game Sunday against No. 3 seed Mississippi (25-8), which defeated Vanderbilt 64-52 in the other semifinal. Alabama (21-12), the tournament’s No. 4 seed, will spend Sunday waiting to learn its fate from the NCAA tournament selection committee.