Jan. 30, 2013

Final Stats

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – South Carolina (12-8, 2-5 SEC) fell to No. 4 Florida (17-2, 7-0 SEC) 75-36 in conference play on Wednesday night. Freshman forward Michael Carrera scored 13 and tallied a game-high nine rebounds to pace the Gamecocks.

Junior guard Bruce Ellington added seven points and three assists. On the night, the Gamecocks were 14-of-45 (31.1%) from the floor for the game. South Carolina turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 22 Florida points. The Gamecocks recorded seven steals, but were only able to manufacture two points from 12 Gator turnovers.

Senior guards Mike Rosario and Kenny Boynton led the Gators netting 15 points apiece. Boynton dished out seven assists for the Gators. Freshman guard Michael Frazier added 12 points and seven rebounds. Junior center Patric Young recorded a team-high eight boards. Florida was 12-of-21 (57.1%) from behind the arc on the night and hit 23-of-54 (52.8%) field goal attempts.

The Gamecocks had nine turnovers on their first 15 possessions of the game and Florida held a 21-4 lead after a 4-point play from Rosario with 10:12 remaining in the first half.

Sophomore guard Damien Leonard hit a jumper with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half on an assist from junior guard Brenton Williams to put the score at 21-6, but South Carolina continued to be plagued by fouls and turnovers the remainder of the half with two free throws from Leonard giving the Gamecocks 10 points at the break to trail the Gators 33-10.

South Carolina hit just three field goals in the opening half on 21 attempts, missing all seven shots from 3-point range. Florida was 11-of-23 from the field, including four made 3s. The Gamecocks hit all four attempts from the free throw line in the half, with Florida hitting 7-of-16 attempts.

Florida began the second half on a 13-3 run sparked by two 3s from Boynton, forcing a timeout for the Gamecocks with 16:46 on the clock.

The Gamecocks continued to struggle offensively in the second half, scoring 26 points on 11-of-24 shooting. Florida opened up their largest lead at 46 points with 2:49 remaining on the clock, and took the 75-36 win.

South Carolina continues SEC play when it hosts Georgia on Saturday at 1:47 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised on the SEC Network.