Feb. 8, 2006

Final Stats

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Tre’ Kelley scored 17 points, made three free throws in the final 26 seconds and had a key steal down the stretch that helped South Carolina upset No. 7 Florida 71-67 on Wednesday night.

The Gamecocks ended the second-longest home winning streak in the nation at 20 games and swept the Gators for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

Florida’s Lee Humphrey hit his fourth 3-pointer to make it 69-67 with about 20 seconds to play, then Kelley missed one of two free throws to give the Gators (20-3, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) a final chance.

But Brandon Wallace blocked Taurean Green’s 3-point shot, and the Gamecocks became the first road team to celebrate a victory in the O’Connell Center since Tennessee beat Florida 83-76 in overtime on Jan. 19, 2005.

South Carolina (12-10, 3-6) won this one from 3-point range.

The Gamecocks made seven 3-pointers in the first half and added two huge ones on consecutive possessions after Florida built a four-point lead with 4:06 remaining. They finished 10-of-21 from behind the arc.

Kelley had two treys, including a bank shot. He also had a big steal with about a minute to play that forced the Gators to start fouling.

Joakim Noah was about to go up for an easy dunk when Kelley batted the ball out of his hands. Florida fouled Kelley and he hit two free throws to push the lead to four, 66-62. Following Kelley’s two, the Gamecocks went 5-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute.

Bryce Sheldon, who entered the game averaging 3.6 points, made four 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 14 points for the Gamecocks. Teammate Tarence Kinsey added 16 before fouling out with 2:14 to play.

Noah led the Gators with 15. Green and Humphrey had 14 each.