GAINESVILLE, Fla. _ Paced by 26 points from sophomore shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, the No. 13 Florida men's basketball team defeated South Carolina 81-66 on Tuesday to extend its winning streak to nine straight.
Junior Devin Robinson added 14 points for the Gators (23-5, 13-3 SEC), who shot 49 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers after missing all 17 of their shots from beyond the arc in the first meeting with South Carolina back on Jan. 18.
Florida led by as many as 12 points in the first half while South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell was on the bench with a couple of fouls. When Thornwell checked back into the game with about five-and-a-half minutes left to play, the Gamecocks (20-8, 10-5 SEC) went on a 17-2 run to take a 33-30 lead before Chris Chiozza sank a 3-pointer and Allen closed the half with a dunk to put UF up 35-33 at the break.
South Carolina kept the game to single digits early in the second half and trimmed the Gators' lead to as few as three points, 49-46, with about 13 minutes left to play. Florida then made nine of its next 13 shots _ including five 3s _ to pull away for good.
Thornwell scored a team-high 23 points for South Carolina, which has now lost four of its past five.
Florida caps off arguably its toughest week in conference play on Saturday when it travels to face No. 11 Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
