Allen’s 26 leads Gators to victory
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - KeVaughn Allen scored 26 points, a considerably better performance than his last game against South Carolina, and No. 12 Florida (No. 13 AP) beat the Gamecocks 81-66 on Tuesday night.
Devin Robinson added 14 points for Florida, which won its ninth consecutive game and locked up one of the top four seeds in the upcoming Southeastern Conference Tournament. Chris Chiozza and Kasey Hill chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
South Carolina (20-8, 10-5 SEC) dropped its third in a row and fourth in five games.
The Gators (23-5, 13-2) looked much more comfortable in their second game without center John Egbunu, who is out for the season with a torn ligament in his left knee. Sophomore Kevarrius Hayes finished with seven points, six rebounds and three steals.
Getting Allen going helped even more. The shooting guard made 5 of 7 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. He also made 13 of 14 from the free throw line and chipped in six rebounds and three assists.
Allen missed all three shots and scored a single point in a 57-53 loss at South Carolina a month ago. An even bigger issue for the Gators that day was missing all 17 shots from 3-point range, the first time they went scoreless from behind the arc since 1992.
Allen made sure it didn’t happen again. He swished his first 3 of the game on Florida’s opening possession.
South Carolina trailed by 12 points in the first half, but used a 17-2 run to take the lead. Coach Frank Martin gambled by putting leading scorer Sindarius Thornwell back in the game with two fouls.
Thornwell led the Gamecocks with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Duane Notice added 16 points.
BIG PICTURE: South Carolina—The Gamecocks need to win out and have Florida lose three in a row to get one of the top two seeds in the league’s tournament. If not, they likely will have to face Kentucky or the Gators in the semifinals in Nashville, Tennessee.
Florida—The Gators can move considerably closer to clinching the top seed in Nashville with a win at Kentucky on Saturday. Florida has improved its chances of landing a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.