TAMPA, Fla. “”mdash; The Bruins had two chances to go into the locker room with a tie or the lead, but instead enter halftime trailing Florida, 35-33.
The Bruins pulled down two offensive rebounds, and freshman center Anthony Stover missed three free throws to end the half, prompting sophomore guard Tyler Honeycutt to practice his shooting motion as he walked off the court.
Nonetheless, UCLA enjoyed a four-point lead midway through the second half before Florida’s sharp outside shooting put the Gators ahead.
In this see-saw third-round game, no team has lead by more than four and the lead has changed eight times.
Both teams have a balanced box score, but perhaps the biggest story line is unfolding in the paint.
UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith was dominant until he left the game after a loose-ball foul, his second, with 6:40 to play in the half.
Smith’s second foul came soon after his defender Vernon Macklin also picked up his second foul.
From that point the Gators looked to feed their own freshman center Patric Young, who finished the half with four points on two-of-five shooting.
The No. 7-seeded Bruins and the No. 2-seeded Gators are playing for a spot in the Sweet 16 in New Orleans next week.