Florida saw its season come to a disappointing close on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to 10-seed Colorado 102-100.

The 7-seed Gators led by as many as 10 in the first half, but then trailed for most of the second half. A pull-up triple from Walter Clayton Jr. in the game’s closing seconds looked like it would send the contest to overtime, but Colorado’s KJ Simpson would go on to hit the game-winner with 1 second remaining to end things in regulation.

After a run to the SEC Tournament title game, Florida had some momentum heading into its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 3 years. Most sports betting apps had this game between the Gators and the Buffaloes as a toss-up. And it went right down to the wire. Colorado made one more play. But Florida also had to battle more than just the Buffs.

Here are 3 takeaways from the game.

Whistles and blow-bys

Florida’s defense failed when it mattered most. Colorado couldn’t miss a shot in the second half. That was true from the field, where CU made 17 of its 26 shots and 12 of 14 during one particularly scorching stretch. That was true from the 3-point line, where CU made 3-of-5. And that was true from the foul line, where CU made 20 of its 25 free throws.

The Gators just could not keep Colorado in front of them on the defensive end of the floor. And if they did, they were whistled for it.

That inability to prevent dribble penetration was even more damaging without starting center Micah Handlogten under the basket to clean things up. Colorado had 24 paint points in each half (48 total) and took 33 free throws in the game. Colorado center Eddie Lampkin Jr. was a force inside, making plays at the rim, passing to teammates, and supercharging the arena with his energy. Florida didn’t have an answer for Lampkin, who had 21 points and 5 assists (1 off a career-high).

But Florida also didn’t have much help. Throughout the game, there were highly questionable whistles.

Walter Clayton Jr. was called for a foul here.

Alex Condon, starting in place of Handlogten, was whistled for his fifth foul of the game here.

At one point in the second half, the officiating crew issued Florida coach Todd Golden a technical foul for arguing after a stoppage that wasn’t really a stoppage because the referee’s whistle wasn’t working properly. There was a block that looked clean but was whistled for a foul. And then there was a pretty clear push-off on what would become the game-winner.

After Clayton buried a triple to tie the game at 100-100 with 9 seconds remaining, Colorado dialed up a play for KJ Simpson. Simpson gave a little forearm shiver to his defender and rose up for a baseline jumper. It bounced around before falling through.

Florida gave up 102 points in regulation. That will never be good enough to win an NCAA Tournament game. But it’s also fair to point out the officiating crew had just as bad a night as the Gator defense.

Cold, cold Clayton

Walter Clayton Jr., take a bow. The Florida leader was unflappable over the final 10 minutes of the game, dragging Florida back and hitting the game-tying shot with 9 seconds remaining.

Clayton set a new career high with 33 points. He scored Florida’s last 16 points and had 18 points in the last 5 minutes of the game — all while playing with 4 fouls.

In the second half, he hit 7 of his 11 shots from the field and 3-of-6 from the 3-point line. He also knocked down 9 of his 10 foul shots.

The defense was one thing, but Clayton played well enough to win a ball game. It was a fantastic individual performance in an otherwise disappointing day.

KJ Simpson changed the game when he left

Colorado’s lead guard picked up his fourth foul with 7:10 to play. Colorado coach Tad Boyle took him out and Florida’s Zyon Pullin knocked down a pair of free throws to make it an 8-point game. With Simpson checking out, Florida had a golden opportunity to try and close the gap and make a run.

Instead, Colorado outscored Florida 7-2 over the next 3 minutes. Freshman Cody Williams got a layup. Eddie Lampkin Jr. hit 4 free throws.

Simpson came back in with 3:53 to play and a 10-point lead and closed the game out. He hit the game-winner and finished with 23 points and 5 assists on 7-of-12 shooting.

When Florida looks back at the game, it’ll feel like that little stretch run was a real missed opportunity.