The Florida Gators, short-handed pretty much all season, were running out of options down the stretch Friday against Virginia Tech.
Starting point guard Tyree Appleby was sitting out after receiving stitches, top reserve Omar Payne was serving a suspension and two other Gators had fouled out. Meanwhile, star player Keyontae Johnson, out since his Dec. 12 collapse at Florida State, cheered his teammates from the sideline.
But the 1-2 punch of Colin Castleton and Tre Mann proved to be enough to carry the seventh-seeded Gators to a 75-70 overtime win Friday against No. 10 seed Virginia Tech and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.