Tennessee was trailing by just one point with 25 ticks left in regulation when coach Bruce Pearl called a timeout to draw up one last play for the Vols.

For whoever was watching the game, you would of thought that Tennessee would have Wayne Chism handle the ball and rely on him to win the game. But that’s not how it turned out. Chism was made a decoy and Scotty Hopson took over with the ball and became the hero in Knoxville when he sunk the go ahead basket with just 16.6 seconds left on the clock.

“I’ll get it if we’re maybe down two and need a 3,” Hopson said. “We obviously needed a big shot, and coach had the confidence to put it in my hands so I stepped up and knocked it down.”

It wasn’t an easy shot. Hopson wasn’t as open as planned but after a couple shake and bake moves past Parsons, he faded away just in front of the 3-point line and drilled the jumper which put the Vols on top 61-60.

“I thought he would be more open. He did not get much of a look, but he made a play himself,” Pearl said. “It is a big shot.”

Florida (15-6, 4-3) had an opportunity to answer back and could of won the game but Alex Tyus couldn’t get his shot to fall with only a few seconds left on the clock. Tennessee rebounded the ball with 2 seconds left and it was just too late.

Tennessee (16-4, 4-2) now won sixth straight against their East Division rival and also their fifth straight home win. It also kept them from losing three in a row, which coach Pearl has only done one time ever since he has been coaching at Tennessee. This win for the Vols also snaps the Gators four-game winning streak.

The Gators were lead by Alex Tyus who scored 18 points and grabbed seven boards.

“It felt good. Just kind of trickled out,” Tyus said of his shot. “You just got to realize that wasn’t the reason why we lost the game. We just need to learn how to play a full game.”

Florida pretty much took control the first half because Tennessee just came out slow and sloppy. They didn’t do anything on offense but Tennessee dominated on the boards, outrebounding Florida 27 to 12 after halftime.

Other leading scorers for the Gators were Chandler Parsons with 14 and Erving Walker with 9. Vernon Macklin added 7 while freshman guard Kenny Boynton contributed with just four.

The Gators are back in action on Feb. 4 as they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. Tip-off will be at 7:00 pm and the game will be shown on ESPNU.

(Quotes gathered by Gatorbait/ESPN.)