In a frustrating 72-66 victory over Florida’s No. 22 on Wednesday night, South Carolina did not play as a team that went 0-4 week away this season and lost four of their last five games.
Gamecocks (5-6, 3-4) started fast and ended the game even better, limiting the Gators to one point in the last 5:45 of the game, part of a 13-1 run. Lost by five points in the break and up to eight points twice in the second half, Gamecocks continued to lose the lead before taking over in the final minutes of the competition.
“Defensively, I thought we played very well”, head coach Frank Martin said post-game. “I thought our ball’s coverage was the best of the year. As many spherical screens are defined, there have been some errors and this will happen. Fortunately for us, we didn’t commit many, but the best part of our defense today was that we didn’t commit bad and stupid faults. We took responsibility and protected ourselves and made them shoot us. “
The Gamecocks started game 3 on 4 over the three-point line, but went 1 on 11 the rest of the way in the first half. It was a complete change of mind in the second half. Carolina tried only four ends of three and turned her attention to the painting. After scoring just 18 points in the painting in the first half, 32 points were scored from below in the second half.
“We had an advantage and then we started shooting,” said Martin. We had 10 consecutive possessions in the first half, when we had an advantage when the ball never touched the painting. This allowed them to go to court and come to us. In the second part we did very well. Seventh woods made some extremely important plays in the middle of the track, where he is really good. We stopped taking those quick photos, we stopped turning. We made 18 pitches in the second half in the painting. You have to do some three to win, but whoever wins the ink fight still wins the game. The three is for fans and statistics.
Gamecocks also overcame Gators 43-35 with 13 offensive rebounds for a 20-second chance.
“In the second part, I think we did a great job on the glass,” said Martin. “Keyshawn Bryant, that late (offensive rebound) end was a great move and we defensively cleaned the defense glass. “
AJ Lawson, who had an average of 18.8 points per SEC game entering the competition, scored 22 points from 9 of 16 shots with eight rebounds in 33 minutes played. It was his fifth 20 point game at the SEC this year. He is now just two points behind 1,000 in his Gamecock career.
“I feel like my teammates are encouraging me to be aggressive whether my kick is falling or not,” said Lawson. “Today we went out and played a lot and we came out victorious. This proves that we have a struggle within us. If we can always do that and keep playing the best we can and together, we have good hopes for our team ”.
Lawson was assisted in the defense by Woods, who played his best game in the South Carolina uniform. The veteran transfer, who averaged 3.0 spins per game in the previous seven games, committed just one in 26 minutes played and scored 12 points out of 6 out of 10 shots. Martin also praised his defense at point guard Gators Tre Mann, who was kept at 38 percent of the field (6 of 16) in 37 minutes played.
Great second half of ???????????????? ???????? 2nite ??
?? @ Kingsev_803 ??#Gamecocks // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/YewhWJYPYT
– Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) February 4, 2021
Bank attackers in Bryant and Jalyn McCreary combined for 11 rebounds, big rebounds in the second half that led to some of those second chance points. Bryant has been one of the hottest scorers in Carolina lately, but was kept with a modest 4 out of 9 to eight points. However, he made great defensive plays, as in the block below. McCreary scored six points in 15 minutes, two of which came out of this offensive rebound.
J4 was also in on the fun. ??
?? @jalyn_mccreary ??#Gamecocks // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/GKJu1l6MF1
– Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) February 4, 2021
THIS BLOCK ?? @GamecockMBB pic.twitter.com/HuCnxgWbzY
– SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 4, 2021
South Carolina became the first team this season to beat Florida in a game they led at halftime. One of the hottest teams in the conference, the Gators won 8-0 this season, with a 20-minute lead by regulation. It was also South Carolina’s third consecutive victory over Florida in Gainesville and the fourth victory in the last six general meetings. With a NET rating of 104 and wins in quadrant one entering the night, a road victory over the team that holds the 20th place in the ranking was great for Gamecocks.
“I know we won a few games here (in Gainesville),” said Martin. “Since Michael Carrera’s senior year, we’ve won several SEC games. When you win all SEC games, it means that you have to win in other people’s buildings, not just at home. I don’t know why we have the ability to get in here and win and we can’t win at Vanderbilt. “
The Gamecocks return to Columbia for a three-game home, starting on Saturday at 3:30 pm against the state of Mississippi. It will be broadcast on the SEC Network.