TAMPA, Fla. – Erving Walker scored 21 points, including the final seven of the game, as Florida defeated UCLA 73-65 in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday.

The second-seeded Gators (28-7) will meet Brigham Young in the Southeast Regional semifinals in New Orleans on Thursday.

The game was tight throughout. Florida led 35-33 at the half and neither team led by more than four points until the Gators got back-to-back 3-pointers from Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy to take a 61-55 lead with 5:46 to play.

UCLA cut the deficit to 66-65 on a Josh Smith power layup with 1:33 left, but those would be the Bruins' final points. Walker followed with a long 3-pointer to make it 69-65 with 1:15 to go and added four free throws in the final 33 seconds.

The game was a rematch of the 2006 NCAA final won by Florida. It was the first of back-to-back national championships for the Gators, who also beat the Bruins in the 2007 national semifinal.

Reeves Nelson and Smith had 16 points apiece, and Malcolm Lee scored 14 for seventh-seeded UCLA (23-11).

Boynton added 12 points for Florida before leaving in the final minutes with an ankle injury.