The Swamp met the Bayou Saturday evening as No. 2 Florida came to town to take on Matt McMahon and the 3-11 LSU Tigers.

“I thought the final eight minutes of the first half was the best we defended all year. Great physicality, the communication was really good,” McMahon said. “Second half started, I think when you look at the story of the game, obviously they physically dominated us in the painted area.”

A downhill slope can describe the Tigers’ play after the first half. Leading the Gators 37-31 at halftime, an upset win looked hopeful. However, a change in that physicality McMahon spoke of and a series of turnovers led the Tigers down a familiar road.

“At one point we were 12-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the game, we finished 3-6 in that stretch where they built their lead,” McMahon said. “And then obviously the offensive glass, they just overwhelmed us there.”

With the Florida Gators grabbing 19 offensive rebounds to the Tigers’ 12, they were able to score 17 second chance points where LSU scored just eight. 

“I just thought in that last 10 minutes when we didn’t make threes and we turned it over, they were relentless in their pace and transition, and they made us pay right there,” McMahon said about Florida’s second half finish.

Breakout performances from LSU Forward Robert Miller III and Guard Mike Williams III, both scoring in double digits, wasn’t enough to make up for the Tigers’ inefficiency in the paint. 

“Obviously disappointed in the results and the record, but you just keep coming to work every day to get better, keep improving as a player and try to find a way to win the next game,” McMahon said of the team’s mindset with four games left in regular season play.

The Gators’ win in the PMAC marks the 11th SEC loss for the Tigers. They’ll get another chance at a top 5 SEC team on Tuesday, as the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers head to Baton Rouge. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.