Alex Condon led a dominant Florida frontcourt performance with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the No. 12 Gators beat South Carolina 76-62 on Tuesday night in Gainesville, Fla.
Rueben Chinyelu added 15 points and 17 rebounds as the Southeastern Conference-leading Gators (20-6, 11-2 SEC) increased their winning streak to six games — a run that began with a 95-48 romp over the Gamecocks on Jan. 28.
In the rematch, Florida produced a 44-28 edge in paint points and 47-30 advantage in rebounds.
Meechie Johnson posted 22 points, three rebounds and three steals for South Carolina (11-15, 2-11), which lost its seventh straight contest. Elijah Strong scored 10 points.
After a 3-point play from Johnson opened the scoring, the Gators went on a 10-0 run that featured five points from Chinyelu and a 3-pointer by Thomas Haugh (10 points).
Just before the midpoint of the half, Boogie Fland sent an alley-oop pass that Condon thundered home for a 20-10 lead. The gap grew to 27-15 on Fland’s layup.
While the Gators maintained the double-digit lead, Johnson kept the visitors in it by scoring 10 points in just over 15 minutes of play. South Carolina cut the deficit to 31-23, but a steal and breakaway layup from Xaivian Lee left the home side up 39-29 at halftime.
Chinyelu led Florida with 11 points and 13 rebounds before the break — one board shy of the Gamecocks’ total — as the Gators hit 15 of 31 (48.4%) from the field.
Johnson tallied 12 first-half points, but the Gamecocks made just 11 of 31 (35.5%) from the floor.
Florida pounded the ball inside during the first three minutes of the second half for a 7-2 run, but Johnson continued to answer for the visitors as their only player in double figures.
Condon’s 3-point play with 6:52 left put the Gators up by 20 as they pulled away for their 11th win in 12 games.
–Field Level Media
