Allen, Gators Solve Gamecocks Defense

Tuesday, February 21

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

South Carolina

KeVaughn Allen throws down a run-out dunk near the end of the first half on his way to 26 points. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Allen, Gators Solve Gamecocks Defense

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Box Score

Guard KeVaughn Allen scored a team-high 26 points and the Gators made nine 3-pointers against one of the best defenses in the country.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As far as 3-pointers go, the lid was off the basket almost instantaneously. South Carolina missed its first shot of the game and Florida guard KeVaughn Allen grabbed the rebound, sped up the court and hesitated not one milli-second in pulling up and launching a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Bottoms.

"I know I felt better," UF coach Mike White said later. "I'm sure our team did, too."

With that, the confounding 0-for-17 memory of a month ago at Columbia, S.C. -- the program's first game without a 3-pointer in 25 years -- was washed away. Not that the Florida Gators were consumed with it, but a lot of folks in the sold-out Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center definitely had it on their minds. But once Allen had drained that 3-ball, the storyline turned to one of defensive warfare and which of these two Southeastern Conference heavyweights that excel at guarding would outlast the other.

The Gators, that's who.

And with a heaping helping of 3-point shots, no less.

Allen played the finest all-around game of his career, scoring 26 points, grabbing a career-high seven rebounds and going 13-for-14 from the free-throw line to lead No. 13 UF to an 81-66 victory over USC in front of 11,051 at the O'Dome. Allen was one of four teammates to finish in double-figure scoring, as the Gators (23-5, 13-2), winners of nine straight, shot 49 percent from the floor (54.2 in the second half) and 47 percent from the 3-point arc (66.7 in the second half) against the nation's No. 2-rated team in defensive efficiency.

"We knew if we kept moving the ball, and moving their defense, we would get guys open and we'd knock down shots," UF junior forward Devin Robinson said. "The key was we had to shoot with confidence, and Coach told us to 'Let it fly!' He said just let it go, then go play defense and rebound and the rest would take care of itself."

In the second game since the season-ending knee injury to center John Egbunu, the numbers in the UF box score were spread around nicely. Robinson scored 14 points, including a trio of 3s, grabbed six rebounds, blocked three shots and had a pair of steals. Junior guard Chris Chiozza came off the bench to score 12 points and dish four assists, while senior point guard Kasey Hill had 10 points. Senior forward Justin Leon finished with just eight points, but he took two shots in the second half, both 3-pointers, and made them both at huge stages of the game. Even with leading scorer Canyon Barry, coming off a rolled ankle, held scoreless in just nine minutes, the Gators found offense against an opponent that surrenders it begrudgingly.

"We knew we were going to get open shots," Chiozza said. "They're a good defensive team. They trap a lot and run around and try to cause chaos and force you to speed up. But we knew if we didn't rush we were going to get open shots — and at home, we haven't shot bad all year. We lost to them [on the road], but knew were going to make shots here."

They didn't know who would make them because that's the M.O. of this Gators team, which now has had seven different scoring leaders during the nine-game winning streak that kept UF tied with Kentucky atop the SEC standings heading toward Saturday's big showdown at Lexington. Allen gave a hint early on it would be his night when he scored the team's first six points, nine of its first 15, and 12 of the first 22.

"I know I have to be more aggressive," Allen said.

With him doing just that, Florida opened a 12-point lead, at 28-16, and seemed to be falling into rhythm despite flashes of carelessness with the ball that have crept into its play of late. South Carolina (20-8, 10-5), now loser of three straight and four of the previous five, took advantage of the miscues in taking off on a 17-2 tear late in the first half, erasing the Gators' margin of a dozen and going ahead 33-30 with just over a minute to go in the first half.

"We had some foolish plays in the first half, but you have to credit South Carolina. That's what they do," White said. "They make it difficult for you to play the way you're accustomed to playing."

Forward Devin Robinson acknowledges his teammate for the pass that led to a huge second-half 3-pointer in Tuesday night's 81-66 victory over South Carolina.

A 3-pointer by Chiozza, then steal and dunk by Allen off a nifty feed from Chiozza with 19 seconds to go in the period allowed the Gators to retake the lead and take momentum into halftime with a 35-33 edge, despite 12 turnovers the Gamecocks converted to 12 points.

"We had to be more poised," Robinson said.

In the second half, the Gators slowed things down some in the half court, let their ball-handlers do their thing a little longer, but more importantly shared the ball much better. The UF lead was 49-46 when Allen bombed a 3-pointer, followed by another from Robinson less than a minute later to go up nine.

USC did not go quietly, led by guard and SEC Player of the Year favorite Syndarius Thornwell (23 points, 10 rebounds, 11-for-11 from the free-throw line). The Gamecocks managed to hang within single-digits until Leon hit a 3 from the corner at the 9:24 mark and then rained in another 2 1/2 minutes later. The margin was 11 when Robinson was true from deep on a fabulous extra skip pass from the post, courtesy of forward Keith Stone.

The Gators, with Allen on the attack, built the margin to as many as 18 and ultimately finished off their seventh double-digit cushion in the nine-game streak and held an eighth opponent during that run to at least 11 points under its season's scoring average. The Gamecocks, who came in averaging 73 points per game, shot just 39.3 percent from the floor and made only three of 14 from the arc, to go with 15 turnovers.

"They haven't won however many they've won by mistake," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. "They're an elite basketball team."

This time out, they were a complete one.

So much for 0-for-17.

"We weren't focused on that," Allen said. "We were focused on playing together as a team, coming together, getting stops and getting rebounds."

And getting another win.