Ole Miss just 3-of-19 from 3-point range

ATLANTA (AP) -- Matt Walsh preferred to focus on Florida's recent

SEC tournament success rather than its history of futility.

Who could blame him?

David Lee scored 20 points, Walsh hit six free throws in the

final 17 seconds and the Gators (No. 25 ESPN/USA Today, Unranked AP) held on for a 68-62 victory over

Alabama (No. 19 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) on Saturday to make the Southeastern Conference

championship game for the second straight year.

Nevermind that they haven't won the tournament in 39 previous

trips and are 0-for-4 when playing for the title.

"It's exciting. That's just good for the University of

Florida," said Walsh, who had 17 points. "We've only been here

five times in our history. That's a testament to how good our team

is."

The Gators (22-7) have been giving plenty of evidence for that

on the court, winning six games in a row and cementing their spot

in the NCAA Tournament even before the latest win.

They took a 58-51 lead on Walsh's long 3-pointer. Alabama (24-7)

twice cut the deficit to three points after that, but Lee had a

fastbreak layup off a pass from Corey Brewer and another drive to

the basket in the final minute.

"It was a lot of 1-on-1 in the post and we felt he could score

every time," Florida's Anthony Roberson said.

Kennedy Winston's basket in the lane made it 62-59 with 18

seconds left, giving the Crimson Tide one last shot. But Walsh

clinched the win with a 6-for-6 finish from the line.

Roberson had 13 points and Brewer added 10 for Florida.

Alabama, meanwhile, awaits its NCAA Tournament destination.

"That loss is over," the Tide's Chuck Davis said. "We're

moving on."

Winston had 17 of his 19 points in the second half but like the

rest of his teammates, was cold from 3-point range, going 1-for-8.

The Tide made 13 3-pointers in the tournament opener against

Mississippi but made just three this time in 19 tries.

"It's not rocket science," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said.

"If we'd made a few more shots, it would have been a different

game, but we couldn't find the bottom of the net."

Earnest Shelton tied a school record with eight 3s in the opener

against Mississippi. Against Florida, he was 0-for-4 and managed

just six points. Shelton had a deep thigh bruise and also twisted

his ankle, limping off the court briefly after taking a charge.

Plus, Davis was held to nine points on 4-of-12 shooting inside.

With that combination, Gottfried felt fortunate to keep the game

so close.

"Earnest is a nonfactor, Kennedy has a really bad first half

and Chuck never really gets it going," he said. "And we lose by

six. We did a lot of things well."

Florida's shooters started out hot, then the Gators started

going inside to Lee after the outside shots stopped falling.

Lee Humphrey, Walsh and Roberson each hit a pair of 3s as

Florida opened a 24-14 lead, then the team went cold. The Gators

made just one field goal and scored three points over the next 12

minutes extending into the second half, allowing Alabama to tie it

up.

But Florida seldom gave the Tide's shooters open looks from the

perimeter.

"We made a very, very big effort to take away the 3-point

line," Gators coach Billy Donovan said.

Alabama still managed to briefly take the lead, at 36-35, before

fading.

"I didn't think they were going to go away, considering how

talented they are and how hungry," Gottfried said.

Jean Felix had 11 points off the bench for the Tide, while

Jermareo Davidson had 10 points and 11 rebounds despite picking up

his fourth foul midway through the second half.

Still, Lee and the Gators will try another time for that elusive

tourney title.

"I didn't want this to be my last SEC game," Lee said. "I

really wanted the younger guys on the team to have that

experience."