Florida Gators
South Carolina
Gators Claim SEC Title With Victory Over South Carolina
Thursday, February 22, 2007 | Men's Basketball
The third-ranked Florida Gators (25-3, 12-1) clinched the Southeastern Conference East and outright conference titles by defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks (13-13, 3-10), 63-49, on Wednesday night at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in front of a crowd of 12,076.
Florida's win, coupled with a Vanderbilt loss to Mississippi State earlier in the evening, gave the Gators the SEC East and regular-season titles for the fourth time in school history (1989, 2000 and 2001), and it was the first time UF has captured sole possession of the crown since 1989.
The game's opening minutes were closely contested featuring four ties and three lead changes, and South Carolina took an 8-6 lead with 14:07 remaining in the first half. However, Florida answered by finding a grove and going on a 20-0 run to give the Gators a 26-8 advantage. Seven different Gators scored during the run that stretched the next 7:35 before it was broken up by a free throw from South Carolina's Tre Kelley. UF closed the half up by 17 points at 30-13. The 13 points Florida surrendered in the first half were the fewest the Gators have given up to open a game this season.
Junior Al Horford (Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) was the leading scorer at the half with eight points, and he continued his dominance in the second half as he finished with a game-high 20 points while also contributing nine rebounds.
Florida controlled the pace of the game in the second half riding the 17-point halftime advantage; however the Gamecocks did outscore the Gators 36-33 in the second period. The closest that South Carolina came to closing in on Florida was nine points at 50-41 before the Gators went on to stretch the lead to its final margin over the closing minutes.
The win proved to be historic in several ways for the men's basketball program, the players and the University of Florida.
With the SEC title, UF has now won four conference titles in the 2006-07 school year, adding onto league crowns in football, volleyball and women's soccer. The men's basketball team now holds a 12-1 record in league play, and its dozen victories match a school record for a 16-game schedule.
The victory gives the Gators 25 wins on the year, a new single-season school record. The win also improved Florida to 17-0 at home this year, marking another single-season UF record surpassing the mark of 16 that was set in both 1985-86 and 2005-06 teams (16-1 and 16-2 respectively).
Furthermore, with the win over the Gamecoks, Florida seniors, guard Lee Humphrey (Maryville, Tenn.) and forward Chris Richard (Lakeland, Fla.), tied former Gator Adrian Moss as the winningest players in program history, as the pair has been a part of 102 victories during their collegiate careers. In tonight's game, Humphrey contributed eight points including two three-pointers and has now hit at least one basket from beyond the arc in 27 straight games. Chris Richard tied a career-best with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Entering the game, junior Joakim Noah (New York, N.Y.) was just three points shy of becoming 40th member of UF's 1,000 point club. Just seconds into the second half with 19:19 on the clock, Noah hit a jumper in the paint giving him 1,001 points for his career. Wednesday's game marked the third-consecutive Wednesday that a Gator has gone over the 1,000 career-point barrier, as Noah joined junior teammates Corey Brewer (Portland, Tenn.), who achieved the feat on against Georgia on Feb. 7, and Taurean Green (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who achieved the feat on Feb. 14 versus Alabama.
Noah finished tonight's game with six points and had a game-high 13 rebounds. Brewer and Green also netted six points against the Gamecoks, and Brewer had the game's second highest total in rebounds with a career-high 12 rebounds, nine of which came in the first half. The rebounding trio of Noah, Horford and Brewer out-rebounded South Carolina, 19-14, in the first half.
Wednesday's attendance also helped set a new school record. First the first time in program history, the Gators have had over 200,000 in attendance. Florida's total attendance on the year is now stands at 200,252, which surpasses the record of 195,331 set in 2005-06.
Florida shot 75 percent from the free throw line connecting on 12-of-16 from the charity stripe marking the third-consecutive game in which the Gators have hit better than 70 percent of their free throws. The Gamecocks shot just nine shots from the free throw line as the Gators committed a total of just six fouls the entire game.
South Carolina received a valiant effort from Kelley, who scored a team-high 19 points and contributed a game-high four assists.
Florida hits the road for its next two contests before returning home for the Gators final home game of the season vs. Kentucky on Sunday, March 4. The first road matchup comes against the LSU Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 24 with tip-off at 4 p.m. ET. Then, the Gators will be in Knoxville, Tenn. on Tuesday, Feb. 27 to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Tip-off for that contest is schedule for 9 p.m. ET.
