PHOENIX – As Peyton Siva, Kyle Kuric and Russ Smith celebrated, jumping up and down on the US Airways Center floor and donning T-Shirts and hats emblazoned with the words “Final Four,” Brad Beal, Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton fought back tears.
For these Gators, Saturday’s 72-68 loss in the Elite Eight was painful if not just because it of the way it happened and the fact that put a disappointing bookend on their season, but because it ended a second straight NCAA Tournament run just two games shy of the ultimate prize.
“It hurts more for me, personally, and probably for a lot of guys that returned,” forward Erik Murphy said. “A lot of people don’t get the shot to go to Final Four ever, and we’ve had it twice and did the same thing both times.”
Florida led from the 12:27 mark of the first half to the 1:06 mark of the second, establishing a 41-33 lead at halftime and extending it to as many as 11 midway through the second half. But a 10-0 run coinciding with a nearly six-minute scoring drought brought the Cardinals back into a game they had been shot out of by the Gators, who made 8 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half before being held to 0 of 9 when it mattered most.
Last year, Florida allowed an 11-point lead at the 9:26 mark of the second half to evaporate down the stretch against Butler in the Elite Eight. This year, Florida held the lead by the same 11-point margin at the 9:04 mark of the second half.
“Same feeling,” said Boynton, who sat slouched backward in his locker while reporters surrounded him following the game, using his white iPhone as a distraction. “We made mistakes on our own. It wasn’t that they were playing good, it wasn’t anything that they did, it was just we lost the game on our own, our mistakes.”
The Gators were 0 of 4 from the field during the Cardinals 10-0 run and 1 of 12 in the final eight minutes. Walker, a senior, missed two key free throws after drilling four straight earlier in the game after a foul and technical called on Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
Beal, who was named to West regional All-Tournament Team, also committed a turnover which led to a jumper from Louisville guard Russ Smith, and he was called for a travel with just 18 seconds left after coming up with a steal. In all, Florida turned it over 14 times, giving Louisville 15 points.
But the Gators and Beal had their chance late. Beal, who scored 63 points on 23-of-38 (60.5 percent) shooting and grabbed 33 rebounds in UF’s four tournament games, had a layup attempt blocked with 48 seconds left and Florida trailing by one.
“It’s terrible,” Beal said of letting the game slip away. “I was thinking about that as soon as I saw the shot miss. … When you foul and you’re walking down to the other end, you’re like, ‘Dang, we had the game in our hands.’”
Still, with the Gators down two after a couple of free throws from Russ Smith, who scored six of Louisville’s final eight points, Beal had a chance to tie it. But his three-point attempt from near the top of the key clanged off iron, as did Boynton’s second attempt with just eight ticks left.
“I felt I was open for a minute, and then I let it go,” Beal said. “It went off. I got the rebound back, kicked it to Kenny, it was off. It just happens. We just didn’t execute plays down the stretch at all.”
Florida was 21-1 when leading at halftime before Saturday’s loss, and now head into an offseason uncertain about the future at point guard with Walker graduating and of Beal, who is projected as a first-round pick in the NBA draft but said he wasn’t even thinking about next season yet.
Five Gators scored in double-figures, with Murphy and Beal leading the way with 14 apiece. Murphy also grabbed eight rebounds, while Beal had seven. Walker, who afterward in the locker room clutched a towel to his face to block the tears, finished with 12 points and seven assists in his final collegiate game.
Pitino is now 7-0 all-time against Florida coach Billy Donovan, who played under Pitino at Providence College 25 years ago. Both talked fondly of the other leading up to the game, and that didn’t change after a closely contested game with everything on the line.
“I personally, for me, am very happy for coach Pitino,” Donovan said. “Certainly emotionally going into the game it’s always a difficult situation like that, with our relationship, but I don’t think any coach enjoys losing in this type of situation. But if I had to lose, it would be to him.”
After saying Friday that it’s not difficult for him to play against a coach he loves, Pitino backed off that statement and was similarly effusive Saturday.
“It was very difficult because of the way the game ended, because they outplayed us,” Pitino said. “For 32 minutes they outplayed us. And it really hurt inside. As much as I felt like celebrating, it really hurt because he did such a masterful job of coaching.”