By Ken Cross
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators used a quick 12-1 run to start the second half and never had to turn the page in this novel as they swept past the South Carolina Gamecocks, 88-67, in O’Connell Center on Saturday evening. Leading scorer Denzel Aberdeen and Thomas Haugh hit back-to-back threes with immediacy as Florida posted a 43-33 lead with 18:21 to play.
Aberdeen had already nailed three triples in a 2:32 span as he helped to build the lead to 61-40 with 12:24 remaining.
“Denzel got us off to a great start in the second half, but collectively, we just played much better, and we were able to get that lead up to 25 with about six minutes to go, and just really play some high-level basketball,” said Coach Todd Golden.
The Gators’ defense was once again highlighted in their rotations. For 12:20, they held South Carolina scoreless from the floor, which began with 8:04 remaining in the first half and ran over until Morris Ugusuk’s three with 15:44 remaining in the game.
Carolina had gone 0-for-9 from the field with seven turnovers during that lengthy stretch.
“We definitely started guarding better after the first 10 minutes of the game,” explained Golden. “I think they had 24 points in the first 10 minutes, which is obviously not very good, and the back half of the first half, we were better.”
Aberdeen penned his second start in a beautiful basketball manuscript while Haugh wrote his own story with his inside activity which saw three three-point field goals. Haugh started in place of Alex Condon, who was out with an ankle injury that occurred in the first minute of Florida’s 69-66 win at Mississippi State on Tuesday.
“It was cool to get the start and stuff,” said Haugh. “But I can’t wait until ‘Condo’ and Sam (Alexis) get back. It’s just doing what I have to do now until they get back.”
Aberdeen’s playmaking ability, combined with his three-point game and proved why he is on the rise as a top backcourt performer. He was 8-of-12 from the field with five threes while leading Florida with 22 points.
“We know what we do offensively, and especially when we work out a lot, we work and catch and shoot wide-open shots,” said Aberdeen. “You have got to be able to knock it down when the ball is given to us. It’s a repetition that we do in warmups and when we don’t have games. – being confident and being ready and having confidence to knock them down in a game.”
Haugh’s confidence has grown, and it has scripted him as a tough matchup because he can score from the three-point line while finding his teammates with passes for assists. He had a career-high 20 points as he nailed those three triples and posted six rebounds in his 31 minutes.
Back from injury, Gators guard Walter Clayton scored 10 points and dished 8 assists.
Florida scored 21 points off of 13 offensive rebounds and outscored the Gamecocks 26-7 off the fast break.
Back in the Rotation: It was a monumental evening for the Gators as big-man Micah Handlogten returned to the court after suffering a fractured leg in last season’s SEC championship game against Auburn. As he was ready to play, he wanted to return to the court and help his team immediately.
“I just try to go out there and find my spot,” said Handlogten. “It’s my first game in 11 months, so you never know what you are going to get. I just tried to go out there and play my game.”
Handlogten played 20 minutes, dished five assists, consumed three rebounds, and his lone basket came in the middle of the lane with 17:07 to play.
“He saw how he could fit into our program, and he believed in us,” Golden commented. “He came in here last year and started every game on a tournament team, and, obviously, it’s been difficult not having him, you know, not having him out there playing, but he’s been an elite teammate all the way.”
South Carolina’s ‘Game’ : The depth and ability of the 2024-25 season has metaphorically created its own college basketball lecture. South Carolina sits at 0-12 in the league, but the Gamecocks have been a tough out as they played the Gators and No. 1 Auburn to a pair of one-possession losses.
South Carolina fell behind 15-6 when Aberdeen hit his first three with 15:27 left in the first half. The Gamecocks rallied and hit Florida with a 17-3 run over the next four and a half minutes as Zachary Davis, Arden Conyers, and Morris Ugusuk hit triples, which complemented two inside scores from Colin Murray-Bowles and two jumpers from Jacobi Wright.
Wright made the last Gamecocks field goal before Florida’s decisive 21-5 run.
“In the second half, pressure bothered us,” said Coach Lamont Paris. “It had us playing offense further away and not being aggressive and playing into late clock. We ended up in some late clock situations that weren’t really happening.”
Jacobi Wright led the Gamecocks with 13 points, while Collin Murray-Boyles and Nick Pringle accounted for 12 points each.