Florida didn’t lead until there were 4.3 seconds left in Wednesday night’s win over the South Carolina Gamecocks, but all the wins count the same in the record books. The Gators moved to 17-2 on the season and 4-2 against the conference with the 70-69 victory.
Will Richard led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including three makes in five attempts from 3-point range. Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin weren’t as efficient as usual but contributed 16 and 14, respectively.
South Carolina guard Zachary Davis matched Richard with 22 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Davis made more than half of the Gamecock’s buckets after the break, while forward Collin Murray-Boyles delivered 11 of his 14 in the first.
The big story in the stat book is Florida getting outrebounded in the second half. The Gators are the best rebounding team in the country, but all four of the bigs were neutralized.
A weird first half
Florida didn’t shoot that poorly in the first half to be trailing by seven at the break. Six turnovers are concerning, but the team shot 45% from the field and 30% from three. A lack of opportunities from the free-throw line might explain a dip in points, but South Carolina only shot two in the first half as well.
The Gamecocks shot a strong 50% from the field with a similar 33% from 3-point distance in the first half. The difference on the scoreboard felt much larger than a pair of missed free throws, one 50-50 ball and a 3-pointer falling. Even the rebounding numbers were eerily similar, with Florida finishing with one more offensive board and the same amount on the defensive glass.
Being on the road against an SEC team is a handicap, even if it’s one of the worst teams by record in the conference. Florida had to battle back against the crowd and the players, and two of its top scorers were adjusting for most of the first half.
Turnovers matter
Those six turnovers in the first mattered for Florida, and so did the 12 from South Carolina after halftime. The Gators switched to a fullcourt press in the second half and forced multiple turnovers on the inbound play to chip away at a 14-point lead by the Gamecocks.
The last of South Carolina’s five turnovers in the final six minutes of the game lost them the game. Martin poked the inbound pass into Thomas Haugh’s hands and ran a makeshift give-and-go to draw the foul and tie the game up at 69 apiece.
Davis made just one of two free throws on the other end, and Richard…
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