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After 5 SEC decisions at the buzzer, Gators pull away from Gamecocks.
By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 28, 2001
GAINESVILLE -- Ahhhh.
Hear that? It's the contented sound of the Gators pulling away down the stretch. After a month of nail-biters, they spent the final seconds of Saturday's game smiling.
No. 14 Florida beat South Carolina 69-57 before 11,855 at the O'Connell Center, the first of UF's six Southeastern Conference games not decided at the buzzer.
"We've been trying to put teams away," sophomore guard Brett Nelson said. "This time, we put it together at the end, got a lead and held it."
Tied at 55 with seven minutes left, a back-and-forth game suddenly became one-sided. Florida (13-4, 3-3 SEC) did everything right. South Carolina (10-7, 2-4) paid the price.
Aaron Lucas' three-pointer tied it with 7:17 left, but it was South Carolina's last field goal of the game. The Gamecocks, the worst shooting team in the SEC, went 0-for-10 from the floor and committed five turnovers the rest of the way.
Lucas led USC with 14 points.
"We continue to make bad decisions down the stretch in close games," said USC coach Eddie Fogler, whose team has lost four league games in the closing minutes. "We're down by two with five minutes to go and turn the ball over twice with bad decisions."
Florida forced some of those bad decisions with tenacious defense. Having committed four team fouls in the first 13 minutes of the second half, the Gators played aggressively on the perimeter, without fear of sending the Gamecocks to the free-throw line.
"There were a couple times we got messed up on what defense we were in, but it worked out," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "And South Carolina missed some shots."
Florida led by six with more than three minutes left when Nelson stripped Lucas from behind and went the length of the floor for a layup and 63-55 lead. The play ignited rowdy fans and provided the late momentum boost the Gators lacked in previous games.
Comfortably ahead, Florida made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. South Carolina's final points came at the free-throw line with 22 seconds left.
Florida center Udonis Haslem had a repeat of his 4-point effort in a 69-68 loss at South Carolina on Jan. 7. He got into early foul trouble and barely contributed, scoring 4 points in 13 minutes.
Picking up the slack were Nelson, who scored 16 of his game-high 22 in the first half, and sophomore guard LaDarius Halton, who made two three-pointers.
Florida led 36-33 at halftime.
Sophomore forward Matt Bonner overcame a rough start, missing his first four three-point shots, to score 18. Senior forward Brent Wright, in his second game after Jan. 4 foot surgery, had 11 points in 21 minutes, the maximum doctors would allow.
Starting guards Teddy Dupay (back) and Justin Hamilton (knee) remain sidelined.
"I'm really, really proud of these kids," Donovan said. "I think everybody had written us off, and we're finding ways to win. There have been times when we probably shouldn't have been in games because of injuries and foul trouble, but these guys are finding ways."