Horford, Gators Get It Done

Late Shots, Free Throws Send Boilermakers Home: Florida 74, Purdue 67

Purdue basketball players Carl Landry, left, and David Teague, right, answer questions during a news conference Saturday, March 17, 2007 in New Orleans. Purdue will meet Florida in the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament on Sunday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon - AP)

NEW ORLEANS, March 18 -- Al Horford made huge shots down the stretch, his teammates made big free throws and the final margin shows that top-seeded Florida defeated tenacious Purdue, 74-67.

But the Gators know they're advancing to the Midwest Region semifinals in St. Louis for a Friday matchup with fifth-seeded Butler because they persevered in a physical game that had seven lead changes and seven ties in the second half.

"We knew it was going to be a grind all game long," said Horford, a junior center who scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half, including three baskets in the final 3 minutes 13 seconds. "We wanted to be a part of that. We wanted to grind, and we were able to close out the game."

"I thought we kept our composure. We didn't shoot the ball well," said Florida Coach Billy Donovan, whose team hit 50 percent of its shots but only 8 of 22 in the first half. "Purdue took us out of our offense with their aggressiveness."

The Boilermakers, relying on in-your-face defense, led by seven late in the first half and were ahead 31-29 at halftime.

Defending champion Florida (31-5) took the lead to stay, 51-49, on two free throws by Corey Brewer with 6:10 left as the Gators hit their last 12 free throws and 27 of 31 for the game. Twice, Florida built the lead to five, but Purdue (22-12) pulled to 56-54 on a three-pointer by senior guard David Teague, who finished with 14 points, nine in the second half.

After the teams traded baskets, Horford went to work.

He hit a jump hook from the left block to put his team ahead 60-56. Then Brewer drove, was fouled and hit two more free throws with 2:49 remaining. Keaton Grant kept Purdue in it with a three-pointer from the left corner. But Horford built the lead to 64-59 on a jump hook again, this time off glass from the right side.

"That's what champions do," Teague said. "They step up and make plays down the stretch."

Purdue's Carl Landry, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, attempted to answer, but his shot was blocked by Joakim Noah. Horford then followed Noah's miss at the other end with a dunk that put the Gators ahead 66-59.

"Al was phenomenal," said Brewer, who also scored 17 points. "He made some big plays down the stretch. We needed them."

Taurean Green hit two more free throws with 37 seconds left, but Purdue had one more breath when Chris Kramer, who scored his team's first seven points and finished with 14, hit a three-pointer to pull the Boilermakers to 68-62 with 32 seconds left. But before it ended, Green hit two more free throws, and Brewer made four to end Purdue's season.

"If you don't make free throws, you're going to lose the game," Brewer said. "We've been watching the games on TV, and the teams that are losing are not making their free throws. We know we had to step up make them."

Purdue Coach Matt Painter said his team gave itself every possible chance to win, from committing three fewer turnovers than Florida (15-12) and being outrebounded only 29-27 by the much taller Gators.

"We did everything possible with our effort and preparation that we could do," Painter said. "I just felt like it came down to the end in a possession game. We missed a couple good shots and Horford made a couple nice shots."