Gators run away with 81-60 win over South Carolina
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Five Gators scored in double figures Wednesday as they blew out South Carolina 81-60 for their biggest margin of victory in SEC play on the year.
Florida went with a small lineup as true freshman Riley Kugel started for the injured Alex Fudge and scored all of his career-high 14 points in the second half.
Leading 34-26 at the break, the Gators used a 12-2 run early in the second half to open up a 16-point lead, sparked by a Kugel 3-pointer and alley-oop dunk.
“One of the things that I really love about our team is our versatility,” UF coach Todd Golden said. “Guys like Riley, Wacie [Reeves], Will [Richard], those guys can guard multiple positions. They’re quick, they’re smart, they can play different coverages. I was more concerned tonight about our depth with Alex being out. We had to pick him up and I thought the guys did a good job of that.”
Florida pulled ahead by 20-plus points with 12 minutes left and kept the margin at double digits for the final 17:47, with the lead ballooning as large as 30.
The Gators never trailed and has now won five of their last six games as Todd Golden sweeps the other first-year coaches in the SEC by beating USC’s Lamont Paris.
“It was a physical game. They played well,” Paris said of the Gators. “[Colin] Castleton is a good player. He’s being effective on both sides of the ball. He’s rebounding the ball, he’s blocking or altering shots at the rim and he’s generating offense.”
Colin Castleton led the Gators (12-8, 5-3 SEC) with 18 points and had four blocks, moving into the top five for the most blocks in school history (179) behind Joakim Noah (184).
“We knew we had to take care of business, come out and just have a good effort,” Castleton said. “We know we have a good stretch coming up here with a lot of good teams, so we just gotta stay connected as ever.”
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Castleton’s 63 blocks this season also ranks as the No. 9 single-season total at UF and surpass his 2021-22 total of 62. Wednesday marked his 10th game of the year with at least four blocks.
“We try to keep him in the paint and have him be that last line of defense at the rim,” Golden said of Castleton. “I think he has the eighth- or ninth-best block rate in the country right now and it’s why we have such a good two-point field goal defense.”
Kowacie Reeves scored 15 points and led the team with a trio of 3-pointers. Kyle Lofton and Will Richard scored 10 points apiece and Myreon Jones finished just shy of a triple double with 9 points and team-highs in rebounds (10) and assists (8).
Florida’s defense also continues to play at a high level, holding 11 of its last 13 opponents below 40 percent shooting (.367 for USC) and nine of its last 10 foes to 66 points or fewer.
South Carolina’s GG Jackson led all scorers with 20 points and Chico Carter Jr. (12 points) and Josh Gray (11 points) also posted double figures.
The Gators are back on the road Saturday against No. 5 Kansas State and former Florida star Keyontae Johnson. The game will tip at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
