#19 Florida loses ugly game at #24 South Carolina

FINAL: SOUTH CAROLINA 57, FLORIDA 53

COLUMBIA, SC-  South Carolina defeated the Florida Gators on Wednesday night in what was easily the ugliest game Florida has played this year.  Florida shot 0-17 from behind the three-point arc and made just 15 of their 28 free throw attempts in the loss.  Kasey Hill was the lone Gator to foul out, but three other players had four fouls each.  Hill sat out much of the second half with four fouls, but came back in for the stretch run before contesting a late shot clock three point attempt with 1:57 left in the game and making contact with PJ Dozier.  It was a terrible foul by a veteran player.  Florida’s offense never got into a rhythm thanks to South Carolina’s tough defense, and the constant whistle being blown by the referees.  The officials called 55 fouls (to be fair it was on both teams as Florida was actually charged one less foul than the Gamecocks) to ensure the game had no flow.  Despite the officiating, the Gators did little to help their effort.  Florida didn’t make their first basket of the second half until almost nine minutes of game time had expired.

Canyon Barry led Florida with 13 points while shooting 4-13 and 0-6 from the three point line.  Kasey Hill added 11 points (all in the first half) and played an important role in the Gators leading at halftime.  Devin Robinson scored eight points and contributed 10 rebounds.

South Carolina was led by Sindarius Thornwell with 20 points while Chris Silva (11) and PJ Dozier (10) also scored in double digits.

Florida falls to 5-1 in SEC play.  South Carolina remains undefeated at 6-0 and in a tie atop the SEC with Kentucky.

ATTENDANCE:  10,379

RECORDS:

• FLORIDA:                                    14-4 (5-1)
• SOUTH CAROLINA:                 15-3 (6-0)

Team Stats:

What’s Next:

FLORIDA GATORS VS VANDEBILT COMMODORES

JANUARY 21, 2016 at 12:00 PM

CBS

(this photo of Kasey Hill was actually taken during the Arkansas game)