Live Blog: Florida Gators 70, South Carolina 69

The No. 5 Florida Gators rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit Saturday to beat South Carolina in the final seconds, 70-69. UF guard Will Richard delivered some late-game heroics.

Richard hit a corner 3-pointer at the 1:06 mark to make it 68-66 and then made the go-ahead shot with 4.8 seconds left. That gave the Gators their only lead of the entire game.

“[Alex] Condo set a good screen, I saw that he helped over on the shot. Just trying to be aggressive and make a play for my team,” Richard said of his game-winning drive.

GATORS WIN!!!!

📺SECN pic.twitter.com/do17QzQJ74

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 23, 2025

Richard scored a team-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting (3-for-5 from 3) with three steals and three offensive rebounds (four total). The game-winner gave him 1,000 career points in his three years with Florida.

After their lowest scoring total in a half this season (29 points), the Gators battled back after the break behind their full-court press, 10 steals and 12 second-half turnovers by South Carolina that resulted in 16 UF points.

Florida vs. South Carolina Live Blog

FINAL: FLORIDA 70, SOUTH CAROLINA 69

Richard scored 14 of his 22 points after the break, including 10 in the last 8:08. Richard, Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin all scored in double figures in the second half and accounted for Florida’s last 23 points.

Clayton had 16 points, tied his season high with seven assists and set the school record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer (42). Martin finished with 14 points, including some clutch free throws in the final minutes.

The Gamecocks were 49% from the floor (9-for-26 from 3) but committed 15 turnovers that led to 22 UF points. The Gators shot 42% (8-for-24 from 3) and lost the rebounding battle (36-30) for just the fourth time this season.

However, Florida outscored South Carolina 18-11 in second-chance points and 36-34 with points in the paint. UF also finished with a huge discrepancy in fastbreak points, 22-0, behind a season-high 14 steals.

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 62, FLORIDA 59 (3:37 2H)

UF is on an extended 14-4 run since the 8:22 mark of the second half and the Gamecocks haven’t made any shots in 2:59. South Carolina has committed nine turnovers in this period.

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 58, FLORIDA 51 (7:55 2H)

A quick 6-0 run by the Gators in 27 seconds has cut the deficit to seven. Two steals by UF results in two scores by Will Richard, who has a team-high 16 points.

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 54, FLORIDA 43 (10:57 2H)

The Gamecocks pushed their lead to 14 with a 6-0 run and have made their last three shots. They’re shooting 53% from the floor so far (UF is at 40% right now).

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 46, FLORIDA 35 (15:22 2H)

The Gamecocks have their biggest lead so far with a 2:47 scoring drought and four straight missed shots by UF. Zachary Davis opened the second half with two 3-pointers and South Carolina has for the game.

HALF: SOUTH CAROLINA 36, FLORIDA 29

The Gators finish with their lowest point total in a half this season and Collin Murray-Boyles leads all scorers with 11. Will Richard has a team-high eight points, scoring five in the final 2:19.

The Gamecocks shot 50% in the half (15-for-30) and 33% from downtown (4-for-12). UF was 45% from the floor (13-for-29) and 30% beyond the arc (3-for-10) with six turnovers, twice as many as South Carolina.

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 32, FLORIDA 22 (4:00 1H)

The Gamecocks are on a 9-0 run and have their first double-digit lead. The Gators haven’t scored in 2:37, have five turnovers and are currently losing the rebounding battle (13-12).

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 19, FLORIDA 18 (7:20 1H)

The Gators tied the game at 16 with their 7-0 run. The Gamecocks went over three minutes without scoring and committed three turnovers that led to easy UF points.

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 16, FLORIDA 9 (10:54 1H)

UF cut the deficit to two, but the Gamecocks have responded with a 5-0 run of their own to match their biggest lead. The Gators haven’t scored in 3:01 and have three turnovers so far.

SCORE UPDATE: SOUTH CAROLINA 9, FLORIDA 4 (15:59 1H)

The Gamecocks jumped out to a 5-0 lead and all of their points have been scored by their frontcourt duo of Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle, a transfer from Alabama.

Florida Gators starters

No.	Player	Position	Height/Weight	Class	Min.	Pts.	Rebs.	Misc.
1	Walter Clayton Jr.	Guard	6-2, 195 pounds	Sr.	31.6	17.9	3.4	3.7 ast
15	Alijah Martin	Guard	6-2, 210 pounds	Sr.	30.3	16.2	5.5	2.7 ast
5	Will Richard	Guard	6-4, 206 pounds	Sr.	31.7	13.0	5.1	2.0 stl
21	Alex Condon	Forward	6-11, 230 pounds	So.	25.8	10.8	8.2	1.5 blk
9	Rueben Chinyelu	Center	6-10, 260 pounds	So.	19.5	5.8	7.2	1.1 blk

South Carolina starters

No.	Player	Position	Height/Weight	Class	Min.	Pts.	Rebs.	Misc.
1	Jacobi Wright	Guard	6-2, 185 pounds	Sr.	28.1	8.9	2.4	2.6 ast
15	Morris Ugusuk	Guard	6-4, 170 pounds	So.	22.4	7.1	1.4	1.6 3fg
2	Zachary Davis	Guard	6-7, 200 pounds	Jr.	24.0	8.9	4.1	1.5 ast
30	Collin Murray-Boyles	Forward	6-8, 245 pounds	So.	29.7	15.4	9.2	2.0 ast
5	Nick Pringle	Forward	6-10, 220 pounds	Gr.	24.5	9.9	6.3	.621 fg%

Florida-South Carolina injury report

Florida starting guard Will Richard has been cleared to start play after being listed as probable on Tuesday.

South Carolina guard Cam Scott, who was questionable, has also been cleared, while starting guards Myles Stute and Jamarii Thomas are both out for the Gamecocks.

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