Gamecocks Fall at No. 3/3 Florida, 88-67

GAIINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Denzel Aberdeen scored 22 points, Thomas Haugh added 20 — career highs for both players — and No. 3 Florida beat South Carolina 88-67 Saturday night despite playing without two frontcourt players.

The Gators (22-3, 9-3 Southeastern Conference) led by four at halftime and started the second half with a 12-1 run to open up a comfortable lead. The Gamecocks (10-15, 0-12) never recovered.

Florida center Micah Handlogten, playing in his first game since gruesomely breaking his left leg in the SEC title game 11 months ago, finished with two points, three rebounds and five assists in his return.

The Gators were without starting forward Alex Condon (right ankle) and backup Sam Alexis (left ankle). Those injuries were among the reasons Handlogten gave up a redshirt season to play in 2025. He also hopes to contribute to what is shaping up to be a special season.

Florida guard Alijah Martin returned after missing two games with a hip pointer and scored 11 points. He had three of the team’s 14 3-pointers.

Jacobi Wright led the way for South Carolina with 13 points.

Martin hit a trey late in the first half, with the ball hitting the back of the rim and bouncing several feet into the air before dropping through the net.

Aberdeen (8 of 12) and Haugh (6 of 10) combined to make 14 of 22 shots. They were 8 for 13 from behind the 3-point arc.

KEY STATS

• Florida shot 70.4 percent (19-of-27) in the second half, knocking down 57.1 percent (8-of-14) of their shots from behind the arc.
• The Gamecocks shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) the opening 20 minutes in what was a back-and-forth first half. Carolina shot just 35.7 percent (10-of-28) in the second half.

NOTABLES

• Senior guard Jacobi Wright had another solid performance leading the team with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just 24 minutes. He tied for the team-high with four rebounds.

• Graduate forward Nick Pringle had another game in double figures with 12 points. He was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
• Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles was also in double-figures with 12 points. He was 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.
• The Gamecocks, who have been one of the better teams in the league getting to the charity stripe, were efficient tonight going 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) at the foul line as a team.
• Carolina falls to 1-12 this season when scoring 69 points or less.

UP NEXT

Carolina remains on the road with a trip to Baton Rouge to face LSU (13-12, 2-10 SEC) on Tuesday night. It’ll be another late-night tip at 9 p.m. (ET) with Mike Morgan (pxp) and Perry Clark (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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