South Carolina falls shy of upset as Florida wins on last-second basket

Even when it looked like all the stars were finally aligning, it ended up being the same result as the five previous games for South Carolina.

The Gamecocks (10-9, 0-6 SEC) lost to No. 5 Florida 70-69 on a go-ahead basket by Gators guard Will Richard with five seconds remaining. They’ve now lost six straight games, tied for its worst start to SEC play in program history.

“As you can imagine, that one stings,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “… There’s some plays that you just can’t make down the stretch. Just some what would seem garden variety plays made much more difficult by not only the people that are out there defending you but also the gravity of the situation.”

How it happened

After how rough things finished out at Oklahoma over the weekend, South Carolina responded with one of its best first-half performances of the season on Wednesday. The Gamecocks came out of the gates fast, playing well in all phases of the game.

Just like they had in their last two home games, there was a real sense of urgency on defense to make every shot a tough one for Florida. They forced six turnovers while turning the ball over just three times. As a result, they never trailed at any point in the first half.

Even with South Carolina playing better, the Gators still hung around and got the lead down to one with under seven minutes remaining. Then, the Gamecocks went on a key 9-0 run, along with holding Florida scoreless for more than four minutes to extend the lead to double digits.

“Just come in with a lot of energy, hand up on on a catch soon as they catch the ball, and just be aggressive,” Zachary Davis said on the game plan going into Wednesday. “We just wanted to come in with a defensive mindset and just be aggressive on both ends.”

South Carolina shot 15-for-30 (50 percent) from the field and went 4-for-12 from behind the arc in the first half. The ball movement was as good as it’s been all year with 11 assists, five of which came from Collin Murray-Boyles. The sophomore forward was back to his usual self with 11 early points on 5-of-6 shooting and two rebounds to go along with those assists. At the break, the Gamecocks were ahead 36-29.

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The built-up momentum from the first half carried over for the Gamecocks after the break. After a tough first-half showing from Davis, he came out playing much stronger in the second half, leading the way with 12 points through the first 10 minutes.

Davis’ monster second half was crucial in keeping things where they were. The junior guard finished with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting.

But the Gators refused to give up, even while trailing by 13 points more than halfway through the second half. Following another Davis bucket, Florida went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by forcing two straight turnovers on Jacobi Wright, to cut the deficit to seven with under eight to play.

Florida’s run went up to 7-0 while forcing four turnovers in a two-minute span. But the Gamecocks ended their short drought as Murray-Boyles made a gorgeous pass from near the basket to the corner to find Morris Ugusuk for a wide open three-pointer.

The game remained tight knit going into the final minutes with some of South Carolina’s common mistakes coming into the light. It turned the ball over 12 times in the second half, which led to Florida finishing with 22 points off turnovers.

“We got fragile,” Davis said on what happened when Florida ran the press defense. “We got to do better. Things like that can’t happen.”

The Gators got the lead down to two with just over three minutes to go, but Ugusuk, once again, came through with another three to create some distance. But just like before, Florida got within one possession after a three from Walter Clayton Jr. The same response followed on the other end of the floor, though, as Davis stayed hot with his third triple of the half.

After Florida hit yet another three, its defense forced a massive turnover, ripping the inbound pass away from Wright. Wright proceeded to pick up a foul, allowing the Gators tie the game with two free throws.

With five seconds left, Richard knocked down the go-ahead driving layup to catapult the Gators to a massive comeback win. The Gamecocks hadn’t trailed all night long. But the final seconds of the game were enough time for Florida to lead and get the job done.

Two observations

A better effort but still came up short—Times have been very tough for South Carolina since SEC play began. And it will continue to remain that way. Despite playing so much better on Wednesday, the issues that have hurt the Gamecocks all year came to ahead in the second half. They turned the ball over 12 times and went 2-for-6 at the free throw line.

“We’re not losers,” Murray-Boyles said. “The record might reflect something different, but in our hearts, I know we’re not losers. I practice with these guys every day. That’s just my mentality.”

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The CMB that South Carolina needed came out to play—When Collin Murray-Boyles fouled out against Oklahoma with five minutes left, things quickly fell apart for the Gamecocks en route to a 20-point loss. With how much of everything goes through him, they desperately needed him to be at his best while staying on the floor. He finished with 14 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Key stat

4-for-8—Once again, free throws proved to be a pivotal reason for South Carolina’s late demise in the second half, missing four critical free throw shots in a one-point loss.

Turning point

After tying the game at 68 with under a minute to go in the second half, Florida took its first lead of the night with five seconds to go on a go-ahead layup by Richard.

Up next

South Carolina will face No. 14 Mississippi State, who beat the Gamecocks by 35 points in Starkville to open SEC play, for a second time this season. Tip-off is at 1 p.m. on Saturday on SEC Network.

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