MBB: Florida downs South Carolina

South Carolina's late-season swoon continued with a 81-66 loss at Florida Tuesday night. Sindarius Thornwell had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

South Carolina has now lost four of five games, and the shortcomings have been the same in each game: three-point defense and rebounding. South Carolina has looked tired during the stretch, failing to chase down rebounds or close out on shooters.

A win against the Gators, riding an eight-game winning streak but playing without injured starter and leading rebounder John Egbunu, would have done wonders for the Gamecocks' confidence and their tournament resume.

But from the start, South Carolina looked tired, and those same struggles resurfaced. Thornwell picked up his second foul with 8:16 left in the half and had to sit. Florida took advantage of his absence and slowly built a 28-16 lead, appearing to be in complete control.

USC head coach Frank Martin called a timeout and put Thornwell back in with 5:25 left in the half, gambling that he could stay out of foul trouble. The move paid off. Thornwell scored six points and grabbed three rebounds during a 17-2 run that saw the Gamecocks storm back and even take a 33-30 lead with a minute left in the half.

The final minute of the half was a disaster for the Gamecocks. After Thornwell took a seat, the Gamecocks left Chris Chiozza open for a tying three-pointer. Then PJ Dozier was stripped in the lane by KeVaughn Allen, who went the length of the court for a dunk and the lead, which the Gators would never relinquish.

In the second half, the Gators shot 6-of-9 from behind the arc, and it seemed that every time the Gamecocks were able to string together a couple of baskets, the Gators negated it with a three. The most critical stretch came around the 12-minute mark. After the Gamecocks drew with one possession at 49-46, Allen drained a wide-open three. The teams traded misses and then Devin Robinson got open for another three, and within 90 seconds the Gators had gone from a narrow lead to a comfortable nine-point advantage.

Florida maintained that comfortable edge for the rest of the game, as South Carolina's defense failed to slow Florida down. After forcing Florida into 12 turnovers, its season average, in the first half and scoring 12 points off those turnovers, South Carolina got just four points off four points in the second half.

Thornwell was once again excellent, with 23 points and 10 rebounds. He was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, and had three steals and two assists. But he got little help. Duane Notice had a nice game with 16 points, but nobody else reached double figures. Chris Silva scored eight points and was effective in the post, but he only played 23 minutes and once again fouled out. Dozier also had eight points, but shot just 4-of-16 and missed all four of his three-point attempts. Thornwell also got little help on the glass. Sedee Keita was the second leading rebounder with six, but the Gators outrebounded the Gamecocks 34-30.

Allen scored 26 points for Florida, to go with seven rebounds. Robinson chipped in 14 points and six rebounds, and Chiozza had 12 points.