COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENTS : Florida’s Prayers Answered : East Regional: Connecticut’s Marshall misses two free throws and Gators win in overtime, 69-60.

If there was a worse sight than Connecticut All-American Donyell Marshall standing at the free-throw line, the score tied and only 3.4 seconds left to play in regulation, Dan Cross couldn’t think of it.

“I was praying he would miss it,” said Cross, star guard for Florida. “There was a lot of pressure on him at the time. They were probably the two biggest free throws of his life.”

Marshall, supposedly used to the pressure, promptly missed not one, but both of the free throws, allowing the Gators to push the game into overtime, where they eventually won, 69-60.

Whether he saved his worst for last, only Marshall knows for sure. The junior forward, who has yet to decide if he will forgo his final season of eligibility for the NBA draft, could do little right Friday evening in the second game of the East Regional.

Marshall, a 75.8% free-throw shooter who earlier this season made 20 of 20 attempts against St. John’s, converted only six of 10 Friday night. He was five of 13 from the field, missing all five three-point attempts. He finished with 16 points, nearly 10 below his season average.

Of course, everything else would have been forgiven had Marshall been able to make one ofthose final free throws. Instead, both attempts bounced against the back of the rim and then popped in and out of the hoop.

Florida, which trailed by 10 points during the second half, had survived, and went on to outscore the Huskies, 12-3. Connecticut, the No. 2 seed, was left wondering what if.

“I felt very confident about the shots,” Marshall said. “Nothing you can do about that.”

Rewarded with a second chance, the Gators took a one-point lead, 59-58, with 2:40 left in overtime. Connecticut would get no closer.

Florida, the No. 3 seed, will play Boston College Sunday afternoon. For the Gators, it is their first-ever trip to the final eight.

Like many of Florida’s games, the victory was light on aesthetics. Cross and Craig Brown, one of the best backcourts in the country, accounted for 34 of the Gators’ 69 points. It was Brown’s three-pointer that put Florida ahead by four with 1:16 to play in overtime.

Demetri Hill, the 290-pound forward who helped shut down Marshall, added 15 points.