Despite having a lead at halftime, the Gators (21-7, 8-5) lost a nail bitter to the No. 18 LSU Tigers (24-4, 12-1) 81-75 on Tuesday.

Florida was led in scoring by senior Walter Hodge with 16 points, and sinking a couple threes with just ticks left on the clock but it was not enough to manage the win. Florida had this game. I really do not know what else more there is to say. The Gators should of not lost this ball game. LSU is a decent team and yes Florida is young but it is still not the way they are capable of playing at. Some easy put backs and turnovers could have made a difference, but I guess they will just need to continue to learn as they go.

Florida had a 4 point lead going into halftime but they let the Tigers tear them up in the second half. The 14-2 LSU run killed Florida late in the game. I knew right then they were done, just by the way they continued to preform after the little run they put on. LSU’s Marcus Thornton was a killer behind the arc, sinking 6 out of the 11 attempted. It sure doesn’t help when your opponent is red hot either.

LSU shot terrific from the foul line to, shooting 18 for 21 is pretty good. That’s what close games come down to. Free throws. Florida did not rebound as well as they would of liked, while Calathes led with 7 boards. But right behind them were the big guys, Dan Werner and Alex Tyus with 6 boards each.

The Gators return home for a huge SEC match-up against Tennessee on Sunday March 1st starting at 2pm. The game will also be televised on CBS.