COLUMBIA, S.C. _ He's the guy that got them there, so why wouldn't he be the guy to keep them there?
Sindarius Thornwell capped a 20-point night with the only shot he needed to make, a free throw with 16 seconds left that was the clinching point in a 57-53 win over No. 19 Florida on Wednesday. The No. 24 Gamecocks remained in first place in the SEC and head to Rupp Arena Saturday to take on the SEC's only other undefeated team.
South Carolina wasn't thinking of No. 5 Kentucky just yet. Wednesday was a night to celebrate a game that was often ugly and frequently galling _ but there was nothing negative about a win.
"I was watching them on film and I had no idea how we were going to score. None," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "But we fought and fought and fought and battled foul trouble. Really, really proud of our guys."
The Gamecocks won despite shooting 29.4 percent and leaving 11 points at the free-throw line. They won as Florida (14-4, 5-1 SEC) relentlessly drove the lane and with 55 fouls being thrown around like Halloween candy.
But as Martin said after the win at Tennessee, it doesn't matter what it looked like or how it came about. It only matters that they won.
And this was a win that will look awfully nice in March, that won't pale as others have when the selection committee sits down to debate South Carolina's resume.
Now to keep polishing it.
"Lot of rumors going around that Florida and Kentucky are the only good teams in the conference, but we don't pay no attention," Thornwell said. "We get one win, and we keep it moving."
The game between the best two defenses in the league started as expected, scoreless for the first five minutes and turnovers stacking. Each team refused to yield, but when Chris Silva picked up his second foul early in the period, the Gators took advantage.
Kasey Hill couldn't be stopped going into the paint and when he began turning steals into layups, South Carolina (15-3, 5-0) was in trouble. The Gamecocks limped to halftime, assessed the foul trouble and regrouped.
The Gators hit one field goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half as whistles tweeted a symphony. Neither team could hit free throws consistently _ Florida was 15-of-28 while South Carolina finished 23-of-34 _ but the thinner Gators began to feel the crunch a bit more.
P.J. Dozier tied the score at 30 with two free throws and South Carolina stretched the lead to six before the Gators fought back. Canyon Barry began to take Hill's role by driving to the rim to keep it a one-shot game.
Thornwell said enough, getting into the paint and fouled for two shots, then watching Dozier soar for a layup.
"P.J., give him credit," Martin said. "With the game on the line, he saw a crack and they were kind of sitting on the play and he saw his man kind of relax and he went."
As Barry missed a 3-pointer with South Carolina up four _ breaking an incredible 850-game streak where Florida made at least one 3 _ the Gamecocks got the carom, saw two seconds left on the clock ... and that was it.
They have a defining win. They remain in first place.
