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Florida 72, South Carolina 46
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All posts by Alan DraperUpdated12 mins ago on April 19, 2024
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sophomore guard Michael Frazier II scored a career-high 37 points, lifting the No. 1 Florida Gators to a 72-46 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena.
Frazier made a school-record 11 3-pointers for the Gators, passing the previous school mark of nine 3-pointers of the game set by Joe Lawrence on Dec. 27, 1986, vs. California.
The Gators (28-2, 17-0 Southeastern Conference) won their 22nd straight and ninth straight on the road.
Forward Mindaugas Kacinas led South Carolina (11-19, 4-13 SEC) with 12 points, with freshman guard Duane Notice adding 10 points.
Tied at 28 early in the second half, Florida took control of the game with an 11-0 run and never trailed the rest of the way. Senior center Patric Young added nine points for the Gators
Two early 3-pointers from Frazier gave the Gators a 7-0 lead. But South Carolina charged back with a 12-2 run, taking a 12-9 lead on an inside layup from Kacinas.
The back-and-forth first half continued with four ties and six lead changes. The Gators regained the lead at 20-19 on a Frazier 3-pointer. After a Kachinas putback tied the score at 25, Frazier answered with his fifth 3-pointer of the first half, putting Florida up 28-25 with 1:14 remaining.
The Gators had a chance to pad their first-half lead, but point guard Scottie Wilbekin was stripped by Kachinas with 34 seconds remaining and was fouled on a breakaway layup. Kachinas made one of two free throws to cut Florida’s lead to 28-26 at halftime.
South Carolina out-rebounded Florida 21-12 in the first half, with nine offensive rebounds. The Gators, meanwhile, scored 10 first-half points off 10 Gamecocks turnovers.
NOTES: South Carolina senior G Brenton Williams and former basketball player and senior Bruce Ellington were honored during pregame Senior Day ceremonies. Ellington, also a standout wide receiver, played basketball for three years with the Gamecocks but took his senior year off to prepare for the NFL draft. … Florida entered its matchup against South Carolina with 27 regular-season wins, the most in school history. Florida’s previous mark for most regular-season wins was 26-5 in 2006-07, the year the Gators won their last national title. … Florida’s senior class is the first in school history to win three Southeastern Conference championships.
