GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson likely will be hearing from the SEC office, but he wasn't going to bite his tongue after the way Florida beat the Razorbacks.
The Gators won 57-56 Saturday when Michael Frazier hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds left before an announced crowd of 11,861 at the O'Connell Center.
GAME SKETCH
RECORDS Arkansas 16-5, 5-3 SEC. Florida 12-9, 5-3.
STARS Florida junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) and Arkansas sophomore forward Bobby Portis (21 points, 10 rebounds).
TURNING POINT Florida junior guard Michael Frazier hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to give the Gators a 57-56 lead.
KEY STAT The Gators hit 17 of 25 free throws compared to 5 of 7 for the Razorbacks.
UP NEXT Arkansas plays South Carolina at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Walton Arena in Fayetteville
— Bob Holt
Frazier, a junior guard who has hit 26 consecutive free throws, went to the line after Arkansas forward Alandise Harris was called for a foul on a blocked shot.
Harris appeared to get all ball with his left hand and not much body contact in a game in which there were a combined 19 fouls called.
"All you've got to do is look at the replay," Anderson said. "There's no way that was a foul."
Anderson went so far as to name John Hampton, the official who called the foul on Harris.
"John Hampton made one of the more critical calls I thought in this game -- the last play," Anderson said. "I was not satisfied with that.
"It's tough from the standpoint that the kids for both teams are out there busting their tails and for it to come down to what took place, it's a total disappointment.
"I know it's a judgment call, but that's my judgment."
Anderson said that before the game he talked to the officiating crew of Tony Greene, Tim Gattis and Hampton about some calls Hampton made last season in Florida's 84-82 overtime victory at Arkansas.
"Oh, I know who made it," Anderson said when asked about Hampton's last-second call.
Frazier, who rebounded a driving attempt by Chris Choizza and attempted a putback, said he didn't know if Harris fouled him.
"The refs made the call," Frazier said. "We're just lucky it went our way."
Florida Coach Billy Donovan said he needed to see a replay before knowing whether it was a foul.
"Obviously, there is a level of luck," Donovan said. "I've been on both sides of it. I don't want to say Michael did or didn't get fouled. It certainly looked like a lot of contact. How much there was, I don't know.
"I'm just happy Michael went to the glass and offensive rebounded."
Arkansas (16-5, 5-3) took a 56-55 lead with 11 seconds left when Anton Beard rebounded a missed free throw by Harris and scored on a bank shot.
"I saw the ball go wide and I knew I could get there, so I just made a play," said Beard, a freshman guard who scored 10 points in his first start. "We thought the game was won, but it wasn't."
Beard said the players watched a replay of Harris' block in the locker room on Twitter.
"We thought it was a clean block," Beard said. "A lot of people did, but it can only hurt until midnight. Then we've got to let it go."
Sophomore forward Bobby Portis, who led the Razorbacks with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, refused to blame the loss on the foul call against Harris.
"It's pretty tough to lose a game like that, but I don't think the game should have been that close anyway for us," Portis said. "We should have been up six or seven points."
The Gators (12-9, 5-3) looked to be pulling away when they took a 53-44 lead with 6:24 left after three-point baskets by Frazier and junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who led Florida with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Portis scored seven consecutive points to pull the Razorbacks to within 53-51 with 4:00 left. A Jon Horford dunk gave Florida a 55-51 lead, then Portis hit a jumper to make it 55-53.
After a missed three-point attempt by Finney-Smith, Arkansas got the ball back and Harris was fouled by Finney-Smith on a driving attempt with 15 seconds left.
Harris made the first free throw and missed the second, but Beard looked like he might have made the game-winning play.
"That missed free throw bounces anywhere [else], and we've got the ball with 10 or 11 seconds left and they've got to foul us," Donovan said. "But it bounced in a weird corner. Sometimes you can't control the way the ball comes off the rim."
Donovan said he could see the Gators' faces during a timeout how Beard's basket had affected them.
"I'm like, 'Listen, you've got to keep playing the next play,' " Donovan said.
It was a tough game for Arkansas junior Michael Qualls, who was held to 5 points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field. He came into the game averaging 16.5 points and shooting 46.2 percent from the field.
"I thought he was trying to do too much," Anderson said. "In the first half I didn't think he had the energy. In the second half he was a little bit better."
Anderson said he was proud of the Razorbacks for mounting a comeback.
"They fought," Anderson said. "We went down nine and we found a way to get back in the game and take a lead, but the game's not over until it says zero-zero on the clock."
Both teams struggled from the field -- Arkansas shot 40 percent and Florida 34.6 -- but the Gators hit 17 of 25 free throws compared to 5 of 7 for the Razorbacks, which irked Anderson.
"I mean, you look at the free-throw totals," Anderson said. "Florida is just as physical as we are, but credit to Florida. They hung in there and found a way to win."
Sports on 02/01/2015