Devan Downey scored 24 points to lead South Carolina to a 77-71 win over Florida on Wednesday night. Downey was off his nearly 31-point average in Southeastern Conference games, but he finally got help from his teammates.
Brandis Raley-Ross added 20 for the Gamecocks (14-9, 5-4).
Florida (17-7, 6-4) led for most of the game. But the Gators scored just one field goal in 6 minutes late in the second half as South Carolina turned a 53-all tie into a 67-57 lead. Florida shot 56 percent from the field, but turned the ball over 20 times and shot 10-for-23 from the foul line to hurt its hopes of making the NCAA tournament for the first time since winning the national title in 2007. The win keeps the Gamecocks in the hunt for an NCAA bid, an amazing feat considering the Gamecocks lost two key starters before
the SEC season started.