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Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Field Level Media and has been republished in its entirety below.
A.J. Lawson’s 22 points and eight rebounds, and a clutch second-half performance from Seventh Woods led South Carolina to a 72-66 road upset of No. 22 Florida on Wednesday night in Gainesville.
Woods scored all 12 of his points in the second half and sparked the Gamecocks (5-6, 3-4 SEC) on a 13-1 run over the final 5 minutes and 45 seconds of the game.
Following a dunk by Omar Payne with 6:37 to go in the second half that gave the Gators at 65-59 lead, Florida (10-5, 6-4) did not make a field goal for the remainder of the contest.
South Carolina, which had lost four of its previous five games, won on the road for the first time this season.
With 25 seconds remaining, it was a five-point game, and Tyree Appleby went to the line for a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity for Florida, but he missed the front end, and Lawson collected the rebound to help put the game away for the Gamecocks.
Florida had won four consecutive games to earn its first Top 25 ranking of the season.
The Gators looked like they were ready to extend that streak with a solid defensive effort in the paint led by Tre Mann’s 17 points and eight rebounds and Colin Castleton’s 11 points and seven rebounds. Florida finished with a season-high 12 blocked shots, led by Castleton’s seven rejections.
But the Gamecocks got major contributions from starting guard Jermaine Cousinard and Keyshawn Bryant off the bench. Bryant finished with eight points and seven rebounds and held his own defensively forcing several tough shots down the stretch. Cousinard finished with nine points, four rebounds and three steals in one of his better all-around games of this season.
South Carolina outrebounded Florida 43-35 overall and 13-8 on offensive rebounds. Wildens Leveque helped those efforts with seven rebounds and six points.
The Gamecocks took an early advantage on a 10-0 run that was keyed by Lawson and Cousinard, building to a 19-19 lead, and even though Florida regained the lead late in the first half, the South Carolina late surge was too much for the Gators.
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