For the second consecutive game, the LSU men’s basketball team allowed a second-half surge, but this time it cost the Tigers the game and possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference.
    A 16-3 run midway through the second half propelled the No. 6 Gators to a 71-62 victory over the Tigers in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday.
LSU (16-7, 8-2) dropped behind Tennessee for the SEC lead, and Florida (21-3, 7-3) gained ground on the Tigers for second place.
    Florida’s run was highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey, as well as three 2-point baskets by Joakim Noah. The Gators shot 4-13 from beyond the arc, but LSU was worse at 2-13.
“It always helps to make those shots,” said Florida coach Billy Donovan in a news release. “Lee’s three and Taurean’s three gave us a cushion so that we could do some different things defensively.”
LSU took a 51-45 lead with 12 minutes remaining on a 12-0 run, capped with a Darrel Mitchell layup off a steal and long pass from Tasmin Mitchell.
But the Tigers committed five turnovers during the Gators 16-3 run and trailed 63-54 with six minutes, 47 seconds left in the game.
    Darrel Mitchell scored only 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field and was 1-of-6 from 3-point territory. But Mitchell, the SEC’s second leading scorer, returned the favor by holding Florida’s leading scorer Green to three points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Florida capped the run on two Corey Brewer free throws to push the lead to 63-54 and never relinquished it.    
LSU cut the lead to 67-62 behind two Darnell Lazare jumpers with just more than two minutes left, but the Tigers failed to score again. Lazare supplied 10 points while Magnum Rolle chipped in with 6.
The Gators put the game out of reach after an Al Horford layup and a couple of Brewer free throws.
“From positions one through five, they are an athletic team,” Green said. “They are physical, big and on the ball. That was probably the most difficult game we had to play all year.”
The Gators dominated LSU in the paint, where they outscored the Tigers 40-30 and blocked six shots to LSU’s two.
Glen Davis led the Tigers with 16 points and 15 rebounds. 
Freshman Tyrus Thomas played only 15 minutes because of foul trouble, and the Gators took advantage when Thomas picked up his fourth foul early in the second half.
Florida outrebounded LSU 21-14 in the second half after the Tigers owned a 24-17 rebounding advantage in the first half.
Thomas scored only two points, grabbed four rebounds and blocked zero shots.
Post players Horford and Noah led the Gators’ scoring attack with 16 points each. Noah added nine rebounds, and Horford blocked four shots.
“With those guys, if we don’t block them out, they are going to dunk on our heads, especially with Tyrus Thomas,” Horford said. “That was our goal, to keep them off the glass.”
The Tigers went on a 10-4 run to take a 20-14 lead in the first half, but after nine ties, the score was deadlocked at halftime at 37.
 
Contact Matt Vines at [email protected]