GAINESVILLE, Florida (WCJB) – Playing as a ranked team for the first time this season, Florida’s number 22 fell victim to a 13-1 run in South Carolina to end the game and missed Wednesday’s SEC clash at the O’Connell Center, 72-66. Florida drops to 10-5 overall, 6-4 in the SEC. The Gators have won four in a row and five out of the last six.
Florida threw just 40% of the field and made just seven of 25 shots from a three-point gap, but was still in a position to win the game in the final minutes. Tre Mann’s three points gave the Gators a 61-59 lead with 7:36 remaining and Florida still led, 65-59 in an Omar Payne dunk with 6:37 remaining. It ended up being the last basket of the night in Florida.
Seventh Woods made a leap to give South Carolina a 67-65 lead with 3:12 to go and Keyshawn Bryant scored two buckets in the painting in the final minutes to help the Gamecocks walk away. South Carolina was led by AJ Lawson’s 22 points.
Mann led the Gators with 17 points. The SEC’s best player of the week, Colin Castleton, got 11 points, but he was huge in defense, with seven blocks.
Florida travels to LSU on Saturday in a rematch of the Gators’ 83-79 victory on January 2.
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