S. Carolina’s Myers leads Florida upset

SOUTH CAROLINA 77, NO. 20 FLORIDA 72

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Wesley Myers scored a season-high 22 points, Chris Silva added a double-double and South Carolina upset No. 20 Florida 77-72 on Wednesday night.

Silva finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Gamecocks, who won the Elite Eight rematch from last year’s NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina knocked off the Gators in that one thanks to 42 points in the paint. Coach Frank Martin’s team won this one from the three-point line.

The Gamecocks (13-7, 4-4 SEC) hit 11 of 21 shots from beyond the arc, matching their most threes all season. Myers was 5 of 7 from threepoint range, taking advantage of the league’s worst team at defending the three.

The Gators (14-6, 6-2) led by 11 in the first half and were up 48-39 early in the second. But they had no answer for Myers outside and Silva down low.

Frank Booker sealed the victory by hitting four free throws in the final 40 seconds.

Florida won eight of its previous nine games to return to the rankings for the first time in more than a month.

Egor Koulechov and Jalen Hudson led Florida with 16 points apiece. KeVaughn Allen (North Little Rock) added 15 for the Gators, who shot 6 of 23 from three-point range.

Florida had a great chance to tie the game with two minutes to play, but teammates turned the ball over while fighting for a rebound. Silva sank a jumper a few seconds later to make it 73-68.

In other Top 25 men’s games Wednesday, point guard Quentin Goodin scored 13 of his team-high 15 points while No. 8 Xavier took control in the first half, and the Musketeers routed Marquette 89-70 to remain unbeaten at home. The Musketeers (19-3, 7-2 Big East) surged ahead by 26 and were never threatened as they beat the Golden Eagles for the second time this season. Markus Howard had 33 for Marquette (13-7, 4-4), which entered second in the nation in three-pointers. … Andre Berry scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting, Jared Terrell had 17 points and 6 assists, and No. 24 Rhode Island cruised past Fordham 78-58. Stan Robinson added 16 points, 7 steals and 6 rebounds for the newly ranked Rams (16-3, 8-0 Atlantic-10), who moved into the AP Top 25 this week. Fordham (614, 1-7), also nicknamed the Rams, was led by Will Tavares, who had 17 points and 13 assists.

Myers