GAINESVILLE, Florida – – South Carolina coach Frank Martin was beside himself as he counted 10 consecutive possessions in the first half when the ball did not touch the painting. Turnovers. Offensive fouls. Long-range shots.
Martin emphasized the break and his players responded better than expected.
AJ Lawson scored 22 points, Seventh Woods added 12 and the Gamecocks won No. 22 Florida 72-66 on Wednesday night, potentially making the Gators’ return to the rankings brief.
Keyshawn Bryant scored eight points for the Gamecocks, including six in a decisive 13-1 run in the final 6:37 am to close the game. This outbreak turned a six-point deficit into an unlikely victory on the road.
Bryant scored on two dunks and a putback, a microcosm of Florida’s problems all night. South Carolina (5-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) dominated the Gators (10-5, 6-4) on the inside, overtaking them by 50-30 in the painting and getting 13 offensive rebounds. Much of that damage came after the break.
“You have to do a few 3s to win, but whoever wins the fight for the ink still wins the game,” said Martin. “The 3s are for the fans and the statistics and for all the people who sit down and say it’s beautiful game when it is played that way. I do not disagree. I wish we could do 15, 16 3s in one game.
“But at the end of the day, if you want to win, you better put the ball in the paint.”
Florida was playing its first game as a qualifying team in more than 14 months. The Gators entered the Top 25 after winning four in a row, including victories against No. 6 Tennessee and No. 11 West Virginia.
But they were nothing like the same team against Martin’s difficult and disconnected group that dealt with the problems of COVID-19 for much of the season.
“Everyone hurts. This hurts more because I feel like we have given up, ”said point guard Tre Mann, who led Florida with 17 points and eight rebounds. “They came out and punched us in the mouth. yes, this hurts a lot. “
Mann was not yet done with his team’s effort, which happened hours after Florida striker Keyontae Johnson was discarded for the season, almost two months after he passed out on the Florida state court. The Gators renewed their attack without the SEC’s pre-season player of the year and finally began to find their balance.
“It has been difficult for us this year. Every time we get a little bit of success, we tend to go out, play badly and lose focus, “said Mann.” I feel like this is what happened again tonight. We just weren’t focused. They left hungry and just punched us. “
Gamecocks hit the ball early and often, so many times that Florida ended the game with 12 blocks. But the strategy worked, as Lawson hit 9 out of 16 shots and eight rebounds. Bryant added seven plates.
Noah Locke had three points out of 3 for Florida and finished with 15 points. Colin Castleton scored 11 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks, his fourth game with at least five blocks in the last six games. But Castleton and his companion Omar Payne were brought up in and around the border.
“It just proved that we have the struggle within us,” said Lawson.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks won for the first time in five attempts away from home. But they have no gimmes on the stretch with road games remaining against Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia. Each of these teams has at least eight wins at home.
Florida: The Gators have released all the confidence and momentum they have built up over the past two weeks. And their schedule gets tough from here, with the upcoming road games against LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas.
NEXT
South Carolina: hosts the state of Mississippi on Saturday, the first of three in a row at home.
Florida: Plays at LSU on Saturday, starting a stretch of three out of four on the road.
——