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The No. 22 Florida Gators men’s basketball team lost their first game since Jan. 16 with a six-point loss to South Carolina after not making a basket in the final six and a half minutes

Following a four-game stretch that included wins over a then-No. 6 Tennessee team at home and then-No. 11 West Virginia away, a 4-6 South Carolina team seemed to pose little challenge to the newly-ranked Gators, who appeared in the AP top 25 for the first time this season in this week’s rankings.

However, the Gamecocks didn’t come to Gainesville to roll over and let the Gators fast forward to LSU and Kentucky in the upcoming week. South Carolina went on an early 14-2 run to open up a 19-9 lead after pulling down five of the first seven rebounds of the game and making three of its first four shots from long range. The Gamecocks still lead by 10 with 12:36 to go in the first half.

However, Florida refused to look defeated for long and spent the rest of the first half fighting back. Behind an 13-point opening half from Noah Locke, who was 3-5 from three, along with nine points and seven rebounds from Tre Mann, the Gators stormed back. 100 seconds later, they were within four. Four minutes after that, they tied the game, and they retook the lead with 5:56 remaining in the first half.

The Gators went to the locker room with a 40-35 lead. They hadn’t lost a game all season when they had lead at the half.

Colin Castleton had a huge second half for what felt like the hundredth time this season, ending with 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high eight blocks. Omar Payne also got a starting nod in the Gators new dual-big lineup and performed admirably, scoring 10 points on a perfect 5-5 night from the floor

But Florida just couldn’t put the Gamecocks away. South Carolina, led by guard AJ Lawson’s 22 points and 8 rebounds and 12 second-half points from guard Seventh Woods, went on two separate 10-0 runs in the second half. With 14 minutes to play, the Gators lead by eight points, but the Gamecocks had the lead four minutes later after five unanswered baskets.

The Gators pulled back in front shortly after and after an Omar Payne dunk put them ahead 59-65 with 6:37 remaining, it felt like Florida’s game to lose with the lead, momentum and the home court on their side.

The Gators scored one point the rest of the game.

As South Carolina stormed back on a 13-1 run to finish the game, the Gators couldn’t point just one finger as to what went wrong Wednesday night. The team didn’t make a basket the final six and a half minutes and shot 10-31 (32.3%) in the second half. They were outscored in the paint 50-30. South Carolina’s 20 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds. Noah Locke’s two-point second half after an electric opening twenty minutes. Scottie Lewis, who still hasn’t found his stride since being sidelined for two weeks for health and safety reasons, managed only one point in fourteen minutes.

Florida will hope to leave this game behind when they travel to Louisiana this week to play LSU Saturday that could control who ultimately finishes second in the SEC for the regular season. The Gators are now 10-5 on the year and 6-4 in conference play.