Colin Castleton led five scorers in double figures with 18 points as Florida rolled to its most lopsided win in Southeastern Conference play this season, beating visiting South Carolina 81-60 in Gainesville, Fla.
Kowacie Reeves added 15 points for the Gators and Myreon Jones flirted with a triple-double, finishing with nine points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight assists.
The Gators (12-8, 5-3 SEC) picked up their fifth win in their last six games and posted their largest margin of victory since beating Ohio 82-48 on Dec. 14.
G.G. Jackson II led South Carolina (8-12, 1-6) with 20 points. Chico Carter Jr. added 12 and Josh Gray scored 11. Zachary Davis was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul with 10:48 remaining in the second half.
Florida moved the ball well throughout, posting 21 assists on 31 baskets. Castleton went 7 of 10 from the field and posted five blocks, passing Andrew DeClercq for fifth on Florida’s all-time shot block list.
The Gators shot 47 percent from the floor while holding the Gamecocks to 36.7 percent shooting from the field.
Reeves scored 10 points in the first half, helping Florida take a 34-26 lead into halftime.
The Gators got off to a quick start, jumping ahead 12-4 on a transition layup by Reeves.
Florida built its biggest lead of the half at 28-17 on a Castleton layup with 5:56 left. But when Castleton picked up his second foul with 4:49 remaining and sat the rest of the half, the Gamecocks went on a run, cutting Florida’s lead to 32-26 on a dunk by Josh Gray with 49 seconds remaining. Jason Jitoboh answered with an inside basket with 35 seconds left to give Florida a 34-26 lead it took into the half.
Florida played without starting forward Alex Fudge, who sat out with a head injury he suffered in the second half of last Saturday’s game against Mississippi State. Riley Kugel started for Fudge and finished with 14 points.
–Field Level Media
