GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators’ late surge was not enough as Bruce Ellington scored the final six points for South Carolina and the Gamecocks defeated Florida 72-69 on Saturday at the O’Connell Center.
Junior Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Gators with 17 points. Patric Young and Vernon Macklin added 12 apiece for Florida, whose five-game winning streak was snapped in the contest. Macklin contributed 10 rebounds for his fourth career double-double.
The Gators stayed even with the Gamecocks, and led by as many as four, until the 8:21 mark of the first half, when South Carolina went on a 9-0 run and held the Gators to just 26.7 percent shooting in the half. The Gamecocks were lethal on offense and defense in the first half, shooting 48 percent from the field and blocking six shots.
Florida trailed 35-25 at the break, but cut the lead to single digits behind four straight points by sophomore Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.). Parsons sparked a 10-0 Florida run as he and Boynton hit consecutive 3s, trimming South Carolina's lead to 59-55, followed by a Walker fast break layup. Walker was fouled on the play and missed the free throw, but Tyus got the rebound and put it back up to tie the game at 59.
Free throw shooting hurt the Gators, especially down the stretch, as Florida shot just 54.5% from the charity stripe. The Orange and Blue had five three point-play opportunities and only converted one.
Ellington had 23 points, including 8 of 15 shooting, 3 of 7 from 3-point range and chipped in four rebounds and three assists.
Brian Richardson, Lakeem Jackson and Sam Muldrow added 10 points apiece for the Gamecocks, who won for just the fifth time in the last 21 games in the series.
The Gators hit the hardwood on Thursday, Jan. 20, as they travel on the road to take on the Auburn Tigers in their first meeting since the opening of Auburn Arena. Opening tip is 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
