Gators Turn Back the Hoyas

Florida prides itself on balance -- five players average double figures in scoring -- but in the final minute Friday night there was no question whom the Gators would turn to facing a one-point deficit against Georgetown.

Sophomore forward Joakim Noah had already scored 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots when he received the ball near the basket. But Noah would need a pick-me-up from his teammates after missing a shot from nearly point-blank range.

Gator forward Al Horford tipped the ball to swingman Corey Brewer, who drove toward the basket, was fouled while falling and put up a shot that somehow went in the basket.

Brewer made the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play with 27 seconds left, but Florida’s 57-53 victory in a Minneapolis Regional semifinal at the Metrodome wasn’t all but secure until Georgetown swingman Darrel Owens missed an open three-point shot with seven seconds to play.

Brewer, guarding Owens on the play, had slipped, giving Owens an open look.

“In my mind, I saw the guy hitting the three,” Brewer said. “But luckily it came off. My heart was in my mouth.”

The third-seeded Gators (30-6), who advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000, will face top-seeded Villanova (28-4) on Sunday.

Seventh-seeded Georgetown had taken a 53-52 lead with 1:47 left when guard Ashanti Cook banked in a pull-up jump shot. The Hoyas (23-10) had a chance to extend the advantage after Horford missed a baby hook and Georgetown forward Brandon Bowman grabbed the rebound.

But Bowman missed a driving layup and Florida Coach Billy Donovan called a timeout to set up a play for Noah.

“We got the ball exactly where we wanted to get it -- we got it to Jo about three or four feet from the basket,” Donovan said.

Afterward, Noah thanked Brewer for “saving my butt.”

“I missed a wide-open layup that could have cost us the game,” Noah said.

After Brewer’s three-point play gave Florida a 55-53 lead, the Gators committed their sixth foul of the half to stop the clock with 13.3 seconds left. Owens then worked free for his open shot that clanked off the back of the rim.

The Hoyas fouled Horford as he tried to grab the rebound with six seconds left, and the Gator big man made both free throws to set the final margin.

“That’s just the nature of athletics,” Georgetown Coach John Thompson III said. “We got the shot for who we wanted to get it and the shot didn’t go in.

“It’s disappointing. We didn’t want to be going home right now. They made plays when they had to make plays.”

Forward Jeff Green scored 15 points and Cook had 12 for the Hoyas, who said they took no solace in reaching their first Sweet 16 in five years.