Florida center Micah Handlogten broke his lower left leg in the opening minutes of the Southeastern Conference Tournament final on Sunday and was taken off the court on a stretcher to a hospital.

Coach Todd Golden, who knelt over his player while Handlogten laid on the court, said he felt for the young center after the Gators lost 86-67 to Auburn.

“You just hate to see it for him because he does everything the right way and works hard,” said Golden as he fought to control his emotions postgame. “That’s a super fluky injury you know that you don’t see very often in this game. Playing a big-time game like this, to go out that way, I just feel for him.”

Golden also thanked the medical staff from Florida, Auburn and the SEC for the quick response treating Handlogten. Florida officials were expecting Handlogten to have surgery later on Sunday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The 7ft 1in Handlogten had two rebounds in two minutes and was trying to come down with a third when he landed awkwardly on his left foot. He immediately went down in pain and rolled onto his side, putting his hands to his face.

The sound of bone apparently breaking could be heard on TV with blood immediately visible on the back of his calf.

Play continued as Aden Holloway took a pass and finished a layup on the other end for Auburn. Play then stopped as trainers rushed out to tend to Handlogten, and silence descended on Bridgestone Arena.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said players from both teams returned to their benches and prayed.

Handlogten’s parents were brought to the court from their seats in the stands. His mother, Danielle, wearing his No 3 jersey, kneeled near his head as her son was treated on the court with his father, Ben, close by.

They stood together as Handlogten’s leg was placed inside an air cast before he was placed on a backboard, then lifted onto a stretcher. Teammates, several of whom were in tears, came over to him as Handlogten was taken off the court.

Handlogten ranked 11th nationally, averaging 2.3 shots blocked per game at Marshall where he was the Sun Belt Conference freshman of the year. He transferred to Florida, and started 22 of 33 games including Sunday’s tournament final.

Handlogten came into the game ranked fourth nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. Forward Tyrese Samuel said they would try to stay positive in the coming weeks.

“Losing him really kind of affected us,” Samuel said. “We’re going to go out there next week and keep on playing for him.”