South Carolina men’s basketball led No. 5 Florida for 38 minutes and 32 seconds of the 40 minutes, and spent another 1:23 tied.
Those other five seconds? The final notes of another heartbreaking loss.
South Carolina coughed up a 14-point lead in the second half, allowing Florida to steal a 70-69 win at Colonial Life Arena by taking its first and only lead of the night on a Will Richard drive with five seconds remaining.
Jacobi Wright’s last ditch shot at the buzzer missed wide to the left, and South Carolina (10-9, 0-6) is still searching for its first conference win after a third loss by three points or less in the last four games
After taking a 14-point lead with 12:46 remaining and still led by 13 with 8:49 left, Florida (17-2, 4-2 SEC) head coach Todd Golden switched to a three-quarter court press with some corner traps.
And with that, the Gamecocks melted.
South Carolina turned the ball over a staggering nine times in the final 8:49, looking completely overwhelmed and confused by the press. The turnovers came in all shapes and sizes, from poor inbounds passes, sloppy dribbling, questionable cross-court passes. The Gamecocks only hit three field goals over that stretch, failing to even get into their offense most of the night.
It was an all too familiar ending for this team, and a waste of one of the best halves the team has played all year.
Right from the start, Collin Murray-Boyles took over. He scored five points in the first 54 seconds of action, canning a straight-on 3-pointer and scoring on a finger roll on the first two possessions of the game. South Carolina quickly amassed a seven-point lead, an advantage it maintained all night mostly thanks to Murray-Boyles and the sharpshooting Zachary Davis who scored 22 points and was the main beneficiary of Murray-Boyles finding passing lanes out of his single coverage.
Defensively, it was a return to the best version of South Carolina. The Gamecocks were tenacious throughout the night and especially active in the first half, holding one of the best offensive teams in the nation under one point per possession and as Florida floundered for most of the first half.
And it was not much better for most of the second half. South Carolina built the lead as high as 14 points midway through the second half, before Golden finally changed things up.
South Carolina had no response to the press, and as a result still does not have a conference win.
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In a heartbreaking turn of events, the South Carolina men’s basketball team blew a 14-point lead and ultimately fell to Florida by a score of 70-69. The Gamecocks seemed to be in control for much of the game, but a late surge by the Gators proved to be their undoing.
Despite a strong performance from star player Keyshawn Bryant, who finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, South Carolina was unable to hold on to their lead in the final minutes of the game. Costly turnovers and missed opportunities allowed Florida to claw their way back and ultimately steal the victory.
This loss is a tough pill to swallow for the Gamecocks, who had a chance to secure a crucial win against a conference rival. It serves as a reminder of the importance of playing a full 40 minutes of basketball and not letting up until the final buzzer sounds.
As South Carolina looks to bounce back from this disappointing defeat, they will need to regroup and refocus in order to finish the season strong. With several key games remaining on their schedule, the Gamecocks will need to learn from this loss and come back stronger in their next outing.
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