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It was a valiant effort, but the Florida Gators (24-11) fell just short of winning the ultra-competitive SEC.

The 6-seed Gators fell to Auburn (27-7) 86-67 in what was far from UF’s best performance.

Florida shot a dismal 1-13 from the three-point line and only shot just over 36 percent from the field as a team.

However, the Gators had to recover from arguably their worst loss of the season: losing sophomore center Micah Handlogten.

Just moments into the game, Handlogten went for a rebound when he went down awkwardly on his left foot.

The sophomore suffered a fractured bone in his lower left leg and was taken off the court on a stretcher.

The scene was out of a nightmare. Players and coaches from both sides gathered around Handlogten, and his parents were brought onto the court.

It took time for the Gators to recover from losing one of their most crucial players, as it was obvious many members of the team were shaken from the gruesome injury.

Todd Golden got his team back on track, but it was ultimately not enough to beat an Auburn team that shot over 50 percent from the field.

Auburn junior forward Johni Broome was easily the game’s most impactful player, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the Tigers.

Four Gators scored in the double digits, including leading scorer senior guard Zyon Pullin who had 15 points.

Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. had 13, while senior forward Tyrese Samuel added 12 points.

Freshman forward Thomas Haugh was also given plenty of playing time in Handlogten’s absence, scoring 11 points.

The Gators will now await the reveal of the NCAA Tournament field at 6 p.m. tonight. The Gators are likely to range anywhere from a 5 to 7 seed.