Florida vs. South Carolina

The Florida Gators men’s basketball team visited the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday January 22 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia ,South Carolina. 

Florida came into the matchup ranked number five in the nation with a 17-2 record to tie their best 19 game start in program history. 

The Gamecocks came in unranked with a 10-8 record. Despite the subpar record, South Carolina has played tight games against highly ranked opponents such as Mississippi State and Auburn. 

The Gamecocks started the game hot, taking an 11-4 lead in the first five minutes. The streak was led by strong rebounding specifically on the offensive end, and five points by Sophomore Forward Collin Murray-Boyles. 

Florida fought back slowly to tie the game at 16 after an Alijah Martin dunk. The Gamecocks would then go on a 20-13 run to end the first half. 

The tie at 16 was the final time that the teams were even until the final minute of the game. The Gamecocks held a steady lead until an Alijah Martin free throw tied the game at 68 with 0:52 left to play. 

An Alex Condon foul put Zachary Davis on the line for the Gamecocks to take the lead. He missed the first, but made the second to give them a 69-68 lead with 0:17 left to play. 

After dribbling out some clock, Florida Guard Alijah Martin drove with his left hand to put in a difficult layup with 0:05 left to give the Gators a 70-69 lead. 

Jacobi Wright got a good look, but was unable to cash in as his shot went off the front of the rim to end the game at 70-69 Florida. 

Florida had three guys with double digit points. They were led in scoring by Senior Guard Will Richard who put up 22 points and four rebounds. 

The Gamecocks were led by Junior Guard Zachary Davis who scored 22 points with five rebounds and four assists. 

Florida improved to 18-2 on the season 4-2 in conference. South Carolina went to 10-9 on the season, while also seeing their conference record go down to 0-7.

Mason Garcia

DiSportsPhotoAgency

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