Live blog: No. 3 Florida beats South Carolina 88-67

Another key injury couldn’t slow the No. 3 Florida Gators. Playing without starting forward Alex Condon against a team it beat by only one in January, Todd Golden’s squad won with ease Saturday night in Gainesville.

Final score: Florida 88, South Carolina 67.

Just three weeks ago, Florida needed a driving laying from guard Will Richard with 4.8 seconds left to beat South Carolina 70-69 on the road. This time, it wasn’t close.

The Gators, now 22-3 overall, 9-3 in the SEC, outscored the Gamecocks 51-34 in the second half to win going away. Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen finished with a career-high 22 points. Forward Thomas Haugh had 20. The Gators shot 60 percent from the field and were a stellar 14 of 28 from 3-point range.

Also of note: Florida center Micah Handlogten, who has been out since sustaining a broken leg last March, made his long-awaited return to game action. He finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.

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SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 83, SOUTH CAROLINA 58 (3:51)

The Gators are shooting 62 percent from the field and are 13 of 25 from deep in a dazzling shooting display. Four Florida players have now scored in double figures.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 75, SOUTH CAROLINA 53 (6:52)

The Gators have taken complete control of this game and have outscored South Carolina 38-20 in the second half. Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen has 22 points. Forward Thomas Haugh has 20. The Gators now are shooting 60 percent from the field and continue to play at an extremely high level. This one is just about over. Florida is 13 of 24 on 3-point attempts.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 61, SOUTH CAROLINA 42 (11:26)

The Gators are on a 12-2 run and Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen is on a heater. He just connected on back-to-back 3-point attempts and now has 21 points, a career high. Aberdeen is 8 of 12 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep. The Gators are shooting 56.8 percent and lead on the glass, 21-17.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 52, SOUTH CAROLINA 40 (14:43)

After the Gators built a 15-point lead — their largest of the game — South Carolina rallied with a 6-0 mini-run. But Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen hit another 3-pointer to end it. He now has 15 points and is 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 49, SOUTH CAROLINA 34 (16:29)

The Gators have opened the second half on a 12-1 run to take control. Forward Thomas Haugh leads Florida with 15 points — and five already have come after the break. Guard Denzel Aberdeen nailed a 3-pointer to open the scoring. After their torrid start, the Gamecocks now are below 50-percent shooting for the game (46.2). Another key stat is turnovers. The Gators have forced 10 while only committing five. Florida center Micah Handlogten, who had been out since sustaining a broken leg last March, scored his first points early in the second half, which got the home crowd excited.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 37, SOUTH CAROLINA 33 (HALF)

Florida, which once led by nine, is ahead by four at the break. Both teams started the game on fire from the field but each cooled off significantly in the final 10 minutes of the half. And at times, it got sloppy. The Gamecocks have nine turnovers to five for Florida. Forward Thomas Haugh leads the Gators with 10 points. Guard Denzel Aberdeen has nine and guard Walter Clayton has six. Haugh also is Florida’s leading rebounder with three. The Gators are shooting 50 percent from the field; South Carolina is at 54.5 percent. Midway through the half, the Gamecocks had made 80 percent of their shots.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 35, SOUTH CAROLINA 31 (3:04)

South Carolina finally cooled off from the field and currently is on a scoring drought of more than two minutes. Meanwhile, Florida has turned up the heat on defense and now has six steals. Forward Thomas Haugh leads the Gators with 10 points. Florida guard Alijah Martin, back after missing two games with an injury, just knocked down a 3-pointer entering the media timeout.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 28, SOUTH CAROLINA 29 (7:14)

The Gamecocks are 12 of 17 from the floor and have eight points from guard Jacobi Wright. Florida is shooting well, too, but South Carolina hasn’t missed much. The Gamecocks are 3 of 3 from 3-point range. They also hold a 9-6 rebounding edge.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 24, SOUTH CAROLINA 25 (media timeout)

The Gamecocks are on a torrid pace and now are shooting 76.9 percent (10 of 13) from the field. And they’re a perfect 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Florida has cooled off some after a 6-of-6 start but is still shooting 69 percent. Forward Thomas Haugh leads the Gators with eight points. Florida center Micah Handlogten, out since last March with an injury, made his debut and quickly blocked a shot.

SCORE UPDATE: FLORIDA 12, SOUTH CAROLINA 6 (15:48)

The Gators have started the game a perfect 5 of 5 from the field. Forward Thomas Haugh, starting in place of the injured Alex Condon, has five early points. One of his field goals was a 3-pointer. Florida already has four assists and holds a 2-0 rebounding edge.

How to watch Florida against South Carolina

When: Saturday, Feb. 15
Where: Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) | Gainesville, Fla
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET 
TV | Stream: SEC Network | ESPN app
On the call: Play-by-Play: Roy Philpott, Analyst: Jon Sundvold

Florida-USC injury report

Florida starting guard Alijah Martin is listed as probable with a hip pointer. He has been cleared to play (Story HERE)

UF forwards Alex Condon and Sam Alexis are both out along with South Carolina guard Myles Stute.

RELATED: Injury updates on Florida’s Alex Condon, Alijah Martin, Sam Alexis

Florida Gators projected starters

No.	Player	Position	Height/Weight	Class	Min.	Pts.	Rebs.	Misc.
1	Walter Clayton Jr.	Guard	6-2, 195 pounds	Sr.	32.1	17.5	3.6	4.1 ast
11	Denzel Aberdeen	Guard	6-5, 190 pounds	Jr.	20.9	8.0	2.1	1.7 ast
5	Will Richard	Guard	6-4, 206 pounds	Sr.	32.2	13.2	4.8	1.8 stl
10	Thomas Haugh	Forward	6-9, 215 pounds	So.	22.9	8.2	6.2	1.7 ast
9	Rueben Chinyelu	Center	6-10, 260 pounds	So.	19.5	5.3	6.5	1.0 blk

South Carolina Gamecocks projected starters 

No.	Player	Position	Height/Weight	Class	Min.	Pts.	Rebs.	Misc.
6	Jamarii Thomas	Guard	5-11, 190 pounds	Sr.	30.7	13.0	3.3	3.2 ast
1	Jacobi Wright	Guard	6-2, 185 pounds	Sr.	28.3	8.2	2.5	2.3 ast
2	Zachary Davis	Guard	6-7, 200 pounds	Jr.	26.5	9.2	4.5	1.0 stl
30	Collin Murray-Boyles	Forward	6-8, 245 pounds	So.	30.8	15.6	8.7	2.5 ast
5	Nick Pringle	Forward	6-10, 220 pounds	Gr.	24.9	9.3	6.4	.600 fg%