Florida Gators
South Carolina
Florida falls at the buzzer to South Carolina, 70-69
Thursday, January 22, 2009 | Men's Basketball
South Carolina's Zam Fredrick made a layup as time expired to lift the Gamecocks to a 70-69 victory over No. 24 Florida. The loss snapped the Gators' 10-game win streak.
Florida (16-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) held a 67-60 lead with less than three minutes left before the Gamecocks began their comeback. South Carolina's Devan Downey hit four straight free throws and a 3-pointer with 26.5 seconds left to cut the lead to 69-67.
Sophomore guard Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.) missed a free throw, and then Fredrick hit one of two from the line to cut the lead to 69-68 and set up his game-winning layup as the clock ran out.
Calathes led the Gators with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.) added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman guard Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.), junior forward Dan Werner (Middletown, N.J.) and senior guard Walter Hodge (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) each added seven points.
Downey led the Gamecocks with 20 points, and Fredrick added 15.
Florida will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 25 when they travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt at 1:30 p.m. The Gators will return home Wednesday, Jan. 28 to face Georgia, scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m.
