With season slipping away, the Gators stop the Gamecocks late in a 69-58 win.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published February 26, 2004
GAINESVILLE - Three weeks ago, Florida coach Billy Donovan admitted he couldn't figure out how to get his team to play the kind of defense that wins games down the stretch.
If an opponent was anywhere close in the final six minutes, look out: Florida would find a way to lose.
But Wednesday night, needing to bolster it postseason hopes and with its pride on the line, the Gators found something they'd been missing for quite some time: defense, late-game defense, to be exact.
And for the first time in four games, Florida didn't fold with the game on the line. The defensive lapses that have plagued Florida in the final six minutes gave way to a solid effort and led to a 69-58 win over South Carolina in front of 10,975 at the O'Connell Center.
After losing the rebounding battle most of the game (30-16 with 11:14 left in the second half), Florida outrebounded South Carolina 14-9 in the final 11 minutes.
"The big key was we were defending and rebounding at the end of the game, which helped us," said Donovan, who picked up career win No. 200. "The majority of the second half it was not there, but from a coaching standpoint, with all these guys have been through, I couldn't be any prouder of them and what they are doing in terms of their effort and their willingness to do whatever they have to do."
Florida (16-8, 7-6 SEC) won its seventh straight over South Carolina (20-7, 7-6) and moved into second place in the SEC East. The Gators have won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month. Both teams entered having lost four of six.
"I'm very proud of the effort they gave; however, I am not pleased with the way we finished the game," South Carolina coach Dave Odom said. "Florida stuck with their game plan, handled the ball well and made key plays down the stretch. By comparison, we got outside our offense, took wild shots outside the offense ... and when that happens, the result is predictable."
With the score tied at 53 and 3:50 remaining, Florida guard Anthony Roberson hit a 3-pointer and Matt Walsh made another on Florida's next possession to give the Gators a 59-53 lead. Florida's run ended at 14-0 to take a 67-53 lead with 39 seconds left; Roberson had 10 of Florida's final 16 points. South Carolina, which had come from behind and had taken a 43-38 lead with 11:14 left, went without a field goal for 7:07 in the second half.
But the biggest thing for the Gators was their six consecutive defensive stops from 3:03 until 45 seconds remained in the game while executing their offensive run.
"This was a big win," said center David Lee, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds and was key in three of those late stops. "Coming down the stretch of the season, things weren't going well. We know South Carolina is a team that doesn't give up ... and we knew it was not a game they were going to give up if they were down by five or so, and likewise with our team. We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and we tried to grind it out."
Rolando Howell was the only double-figure scorer for the Gamecocks, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Roberson led all scorers with 24 and had seven assists with no turnovers. Walsh added 15 points. Florida shot 47 percent from the field and had 17 points off 13 South Carolina turnovers.
The Florida players said a tongue-lashing from Donovan during a timeout with three minutes left lit a fire under them. His message was simple.
"The bottom line (was) be a man, go block out, rebound the basketball and do the things you need to do," Donovan told the players. "Don't make excuses ... go rebound the ball. And I felt like in the last (three) minutes their demeanor changed and they realized it's our responsibility to go out there and do those things."
