With 1.9 seconds to play, Alandise Harris blocked a shot.
He got all ball.
The game should have been over, with the Arkansas Razorbacks surviving Florida 56-55 thanks to that block, an offensive rebound and field goal by Anton Beard, and a late nine-point run by Bobby Portis.
Only the same thing that had happened the entire game happened again.
By then it wasn't a surprise.
Referee John Hampton anticipated a foul by Harris and blew his whistle, officially changing the senior's game-winning block into a foul.
Understand that Hampton and most of the officials in the SEC have always gotten by with anticipating calls, which means they have far too much control over a game that is supposed to be dictated by athleticism and coaching.
I'm not saying that one bad call cost the Hogs the game. It was one of numerous bad calls and missed calls, and truthfully, both teams shot woefully.
Arkansas was 24 of 60 from the field; Florida was 18 of 52. The Hogs further illustrated they are not a three-point shooting team -- something everyone is fully aware of by now -- by launching 16 and making only three. The Gators made just 4 of 22 from behind the three-point line.
Yes, the Razorbacks made six more field goals than the Gators and lost because the officials generously sent Florida to the line to shoot 25 free throws. They made 17.
Arkansas shot seven free throws and made five.
How does that happen? Surely there would be a simple explanation if one of the three referees from Saturday were required to answer questions, which they aren't.
Honestly, the Razorbacks struggled to get the Gators into an up-tempo game and let the home team control the game. And yes, the Hogs still shoot too many quick jumpers, usually after one pass, and when they do that they generally miss.
The O'Connell Center also is a hostile environment, maybe the second-toughest place for a visitor to get a victory, right behind Walton Arena.
Fans are crammed in and are right on top of the players. If one Gators fan showed up with the flu, everyone would have it by the first TV timeout.
Yet, for most of the 40 minutes the Hogs had to feel like they were playing against eight guys and three were wearing striped shirts.
Anton Beard launched a three-pointer from the corner in the second half, and not one official was looking at him or he would have seen him get driven out of bounds by a Gators defender.
He didn't make the three, but he deserved three free throws. He wasn't the only Hog who did.
Actually, the Hogs shot horribly. If you take out Portis (9 of 15 from the field, 21 points) and Beard (4 of 8, 10 points), the Razorbacks were 11 of 37 from the field. That's not good.
Yet, after falling behind 53-44, the Hogs picked up their defense, started to get the ball to Portis and crawled back into the game. Anderson took a timeout with 15 seconds to play and drew up a brilliant play that had Portis near the three-point line, which allowed Harris to drive the baseline, where he was fouled hard.
He made the first free throw, but the second bounced long. Beard, showing a lot of moxie for a true freshman, especially on the road, anticipated the ball would bounce long and to the left and alertly broke in that direction. He arrived at the right place at the right time, made a move to shed a defender and dropped the shot to give Arkansas a 56-55 lead with 10 seconds to play.
Florida tried to run a play but barely got it inside, a forced shot went up, and Harris blocked it cleanly, only to be called for Arkansas' 18th foul (Florida had only 11).
The SEC should be better than that.
Sports on 02/01/2015