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MBB: Gamecocks beat Florida 73-69 in overtime

Photo Gallery by Chris Gillespie

South Carolina scored the final five points of the game to beat Florida 73-69 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena. Michael Carrera had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

USC head coach Frank Martin made changes to his starting lineup, looking to get more veteran leadership on the court at the start of the game. It did not necessarily work, but he did lean on those upperclassmen almost exclusively down the stretch.

The game looked like it would be a runaway for each team at times, before settling into a back-and-forth affair late.

South Carolina took the lead with a 17-3 run that gave it a 30-13 advantage midway through the first half. Everything was going right for South Carolina. Offensively, it was attacking the rim, and the jump shots that opened up were falling. The defense was focused and chased the ball around the court.

The final 7:12 of the half was the exact opposite. The Gamecocks settled for jump shots instead attacking the rim. The defense left shooters open instead of closing out. The Gators started making some shots, and the momentum picked up. The Gators finished the half on a 20-0 run to take a lead into halftime.

Florida scored first in the second half to extend the run to 22-0. Mindaugas Kacinas made a pair of free throws in the first minute to put an end to the scoreless stretch, but South Carolina ended up going nine minutes without a field goal.

Florida still looked poised to pull away until Carrera, as he has done so many times this year, hit a timely three-pointer. Consecutive misses by Laimonas Chatkevicius on a dunk and then a layup had South Carolina hanging its head. Then Carrera nailed a spot-up three to make it a one-point game, and Florida called timeout. A shot clock violation followed, and South Carolina took the lead a minute later on a pair of free throws by Sindarius Thornwell.

The teams went back and forth until the final minute. That's when Carrera deflected a Florida pass under the basket, Chatkevicius scooped up the ball. Thornwell leaked out and Chatkevicius fired a baseball pass ahead for the go-ahead dunk with 30.5 seconds left.

"Everybody was scrambling for the ball," Thornwell said. "I saw it going Laimo's way so I leaked out. I tried to get a quick, easy two points."

Florida called a timeout, and Dorian Finney-Smith, who led Florida with 18 points and 13 rebounds, drew a foul. He missed the first free throw, then made the second to tie the game. Neither team got off another shot and the game went into overtime.

Both teams were fighting exhaustion at that point. Martin relied almost exclusively on the starting five in the second half and overtime. Marcus Stroman played nine minutes, but PJ Dozier and Justin McKie were the only other reserves to see action, with two minutes and one minute, respectively. Thornwell played 44 of a possible 45 minutes, and Carrera got only two minutes of rest. Florida had more balance, but fatigue was noticeable on shots. Florida also found itself late in the shot clock several times as it tried to rest at the beginning of possessions. It had two shot clock violations and some rushed shots in the overtime period.

"I don't know how that happens at this level," Florida coach Mike White said. "It's lack of communication. Credit South Carolina's defense. They put us in that situation several times."

South Carolina scored first in the overtime on a baby hook by Chatkevicius. After a putback by Devin Robinson, Chatkevicius scored again on a putback. He finished with 13 points and five rebounds, not great stats, but had his best game in weeks.

"You feel like the team is counting on you," Chatkevicius said. "A lot of (the missed shots) were my shots and lately they just haven't been going in."

Chris Chiozza hit a three from the top of the key with 2:42 left to give Florida a 69-68 lead. Then South Carolina clamped down on defense and made its free throws on offense

Carrera drove and drew the foul, making both shots to give the Gamecocks the lead. After a shot clock violation, Thornwell was fouled, and he made both free throws. Chiozza missed a three to tie the game, and Carrera grabbed the rebound, drawing the foul. He made one of two free throws to clinch the win.

"At halftime I went over to him and spoke to him in Spanish," Frank Martin said. "I didn't want anyone else to hear what I told him. And he went out there and made plays."

Notes:

Chatkevicius and Kacinas both played in front of their parents for the first time in college. ... Duane Notice struggled in his first start of the year, scoring only five points on 2-5 shooting. But he grabbed four rebounds, played solid defense, and tied his career-high with eight assists. ... Carrera has six double-doubles in his last eight games. ... Stroman was the only reserve to score. He had four points. ... With the win, South Carolina has clinched just its sixth winning record in conference play since joining the SEC. ... Freshman guard John Ragin was not available due to an illness. He has missed four straight games with an illness. ... Coaches from both teams wore special lapel pins to raise awareness for autism. ... The halftime entertainment included a video of Eric Cobb attempting free throws blind-folded. It seems like a cruel prank on a guy who is 1-8 from the stripe this season. ... Attendance was 18,000. ... South Carolina returns to action Wednesday against Tennessee.


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