Johnson's 3-pointer lifts No. 18 South Carolina to 82-76 comeback victory over No. 24 Florida
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolina coach Lamont Paris never believed he had a last-place team and has watched with a grin as his 18th-ranked Gamecocks have proved him right.
The latest evidence came Saturday when Meechie Johnson had 25 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 43.4 seconds left, to fuel South Carolina's rally from 10 points down in the second half in an 82-76 victory over No. 24 Florida.
“Lots of doubts around these guys,” Paris, the second-year coach, said with a grin. His team was picked by the media to finish last in the Southeastern Conference in October. Now, entering the final week of the regular season, the Gamecocks (24-5, 12-4) have a chance to win a conference title.
“I knew what we had, I knew what our guys were about,” said Paris, who went 11-21 his first season a year ago. “I knew we had winning guys, who wanted to win.”
That was evident in the second half when they came back from 56-46 down to win for the 10th time in their past 12 games.
Johnson led the way with 21 of his points in the final 20 minutes. He also had two critical steals as Florida tried to regain the lead. Johnson had three tie-breaking shots in the final five minutes, including his 3-pointer from the left elbow extended that put the Gamecocks ahead for good.
“I just felt good. I felt confident,” said Johnson, the Ohio State transfer.
The Gators (20-9, 10-6) had relied on strong defense to build their second-half lead, but could not contain Johnson, the team's top scorer this season. His driving layup with five minutes to play gave South Carolina its first lead since early in the game, 65-63.
Florida tied things at 74-all with 1:12 left on Walter Clayton Jr.'s sixth 3-pointer before Johnson struck for the game-winner.
Collin Murray-Boyles, a freshman, finished with his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Jacobi Wright had 16 points, 12 in the first half, to keep South Carolina close enough to rally down the stretch.
Clayton had 20 points and Zyon Pullin scored 18 for the Gators.
THE BIG PICTURE
Florida: The Gators, tied for fourth in the SEC coming in, had won nine of their past 11 and looked on the way to another victory. Their late fade may have cost them a shot at a top-four seed and a little extra rest before the SEC Tournament in two weeks.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks, third in the league, have a legit shot at coming away with an SEC title if they can beat No. 4 Tennessee in the season's last home game.
DEFENSIVE CHANGE
Part of South Carolina's comeback was a change in defense to a 1-3-1 zone. The switch worked with the Gamecocks forcing eight of Florida's 12 turnovers in the winning rally. “We weren't that aggressive in attacking it and we turned it over a lot,” Florida coach Todd Golden said.
UP NEXT
Florida: Closes its home season against Alabama on Tuesday night.
South Carolina: Ends its home season against Tennessee on Wednesday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Micah Handlogten vs. Collin Murray-Boyles (Zyon Pullin gains possession) | |||
19:42 | Micah Handlogten misses two point layup | |||
19:42 | Micah Handlogten offensive rebound | |||
19:42 | Walter Clayton Jr. misses two point layup | |||
19:40 | Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound | |||
19:20 | Micah Handlogten personal foul (Collin Murray-Boyles draws the foul) | |||
19:13 | +2 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes two point jump shot (B.J. Mack assists) | 0-2 | |
18:49 | Tyrese Samuel turnover (lost ball) (Ta'Lon Cooper steals) | |||
18:37 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Meechie Johnson assists) | 0-4 | |
18:26 | Micah Handlogten turnover (bad pass) | |||
18:04 | Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
18:02 | Walter Clayton Jr. defensive rebound | |||
17:56 | Walter Clayton Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Ta'Lon Cooper steals) | |||
17:36 | Ta'Lon Cooper turnover (lost ball) (Will Richard steals) | |||
17:19 | +2 | Zyon Pullin makes two point jump shot | 2-4 | |
17:01 | B.J. Mack offensive foul | |||
17:01 | B.J. Mack turnover (offensive foul) | |||
16:47 | Tyrese Samuel misses two point layup | |||
16:45 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
16:37 | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
16:35 | Gators defensive rebound | |||
16:19 | Official timeout | |||
16:12 | +2 | Zyon Pullin makes two point jump shot | 4-4 | |
15:37 | Josh Gray misses two point layup | |||
15:35 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
15:32 | Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot | |||
15:30 | Zyon Pullin defensive rebound | |||
15:23 | Zyon Pullin misses two point jump shot | |||
15:21 | Zyon Pullin offensive rebound | |||
15:17 | Walter Clayton Jr. turnover (bad pass) | |||
15:17 | TV timeout | |||
14:58 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Josh Gray assists) | 4-7 | |
14:41 | Alex Condon misses three point jump shot | |||
14:39 | Josh Gray defensive rebound | |||
14:32 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 4-10 | |
14:01 | Alex Condon misses two point jump shot | |||
13:59 | Stephen Clark defensive rebound | |||
13:39 | +2 | Zachary Davis makes two point jump shot | 4-12 | |
13:21 | Josh Gray blocks Alex Condon's two point jump shot | |||
13:19 | Zachary Davis defensive rebound | |||
13:11 | Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot | |||
13:09 | Micah Handlogten defensive rebound | |||
12:58 | +2 | Zyon Pullin makes two point jump shot | 6-12 | |
12:58 | Stephen Clark shooting foul (Zyon Pullin draws the foul) | |||
12:58 | Zyon Pullin misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
12:58 | Morris Ugusuk defensive rebound | |||
12:42 | +2 | Jacobi Wright makes two point jump shot | 6-14 | |
12:42 | Walter Clayton Jr. shooting foul (Jacobi Wright draws the foul) | |||
12:42 | Jacobi Wright misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
12:42 | Riley Kugel defensive rebound | |||
12:17 | +2 | Thomas Haugh makes two point dunk (Tyrese Samuel assists) | 8-14 | |
11:55 | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | |||
11:53 | Thomas Haugh defensive rebound | |||
11:38 | Riley Kugel misses three point jump shot | |||
11:36 | Riley Kugel offensive rebound | |||
11:32 | +2 | Riley Kugel makes two point layup | 10-14 | |
11:02 | Jacobi Wright misses two point jump shot | |||
11:00 | Gamecocks turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
11:00 | TV timeout | |||
10:48 | +2 | Tyrese Samuel makes two point dunk (Zyon Pullin assists) | 12-14 | |
10:13 | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
10:11 | Tyrese Samuel defensive rebound | |||
9:51 | +3 | Riley Kugel makes three point jump shot (Thomas Haugh assists) | 15-14 | |
9:19 | Tyrese Samuel blocks Ta'Lon Cooper's two point layup | |||
9:17 | Will Richard defensive rebound | |||
9:04 | +2 | Thomas Haugh makes two point jump shot (Riley Kugel assists) | 17-14 | |
8:52 | Meechie Johnson misses two point layup | |||
8:50 | Thomas Haugh defensive rebound | |||
8:41 | Collin Murray-Boyles blocks Tyrese Samuel's two point layup | |||
8:39 | Thomas Haugh offensive rebound | |||
8:37 | +2 | Tyrese Samuel makes two point layup (Thomas Haugh assists) | 19-14 | |
8:37 | Collin Murray-Boyles shooting foul (Tyrese Samuel draws the foul) | |||
8:37 | +1 | Tyrese Samuel makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 20-14 | |
8:24 | Collin Murray-Boyles misses two point layup | |||
8:22 | Tyrese Samuel defensive rebound | |||
8:07 | Josh Gray personal foul | |||
7:52 | Riley Kugel misses three point jump shot | |||
7:50 | Gamecocks defensive rebound | |||
7:50 | TV timeout | |||
7:23 | Will Richard shooting foul (Jacobi Wright draws the foul) | |||
7:23 | +1 | Jacobi Wright makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 20-15 | |
7:23 | Jacobi Wright misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
7:23 | Jacobi Wright offensive rebound | |||
7:19 | Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
7:17 | Zyon Pullin defensive rebound | |||
6:58 | +3 | Thomas Haugh makes three point jump shot (Tyrese Samuel assists) | 23-15 | |
6:36 | Thomas Haugh shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul) | |||
6:36 | +1 | Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 23-16 | |
6:36 | +1 | Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-17 | |
6:21 | Zachary Davis personal foul | |||
6:07 | Zyon Pullin misses two point jump shot | |||
6:05 | Will Richard offensive rebound | |||
6:01 | Collin Murray-Boyles blocks Will Richard's two point layup | |||
5:59 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
5:57 | Zyon Pullin shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul) | |||
5:57 | +1 | Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 23-18 | |
5:57 | +1 | Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-19 | |
5:35 | Tyrese Samuel misses two point layup | |||
5:33 | Tyrese Samuel offensive rebound | |||
5:30 | Zachary Davis blocks Tyrese Samuel's two point layup | |||
5:28 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
5:17 | +3 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes three point jump shot (Zachary Davis assists) | 23-22 | |
5:14 | Gators 30 second timeout | |||
5:00 | Ta'Lon Cooper shooting foul (Tyrese Samuel draws the foul) | |||
5:00 | +1 | Tyrese Samuel makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-22 | |
5:00 | +1 | Tyrese Samuel makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-22 | |
4:39 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point layup (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 25-24 | |
4:28 | Walter Clayton Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
4:26 | Thomas Haugh offensive rebound | |||
4:21 | +2 | Thomas Haugh makes two point layup | 27-24 | |
4:06 | Thomas Haugh shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul) | |||
4:06 | +1 | Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-25 | |
4:06 | +1 | Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-26 | |
3:46 | Meechie Johnson personal foul (Walter Clayton Jr. draws the foul) | |||
3:46 | TV timeout | |||
3:46 | Walter Clayton Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
3:46 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
3:22 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point dunk (B.J. Mack assists) | 27-28 | |
3:04 | +2 | Zyon Pullin makes two point jump shot | 29-28 | |
2:40 | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | |||
2:38 | Walter Clayton Jr. defensive rebound | |||
2:25 | +2 | Alex Condon makes two point hook shot (Walter Clayton Jr. assists) | 31-28 | |
2:10 | Meechie Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
2:08 | Alex Condon defensive rebound | |||
2:02 | +3 | Walter Clayton Jr. makes three point jump shot | 34-28 | |
1:49 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 34-31 | |
1:34 | Zyon Pullin misses two point jump shot | |||
1:32 | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | |||
1:27 | Ta'Lon Cooper turnover (lost ball) (Riley Kugel steals) | |||
1:18 | Riley Kugel misses two point jump shot | |||
1:16 | Riley Kugel offensive rebound | |||
1:05 | Alex Condon misses three point jump shot | |||
1:03 | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:58 | Gamecocks 30 second timeout | |||
0:45 | Tyrese Samuel blocks Ta'Lon Cooper's two point layup | |||
0:43 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
0:31 | Jacobi Wright misses two point jump shot | |||
0:29 | Tyrese Samuel defensive rebound | |||
0:14 | +3 | Walter Clayton Jr. makes three point jump shot | 37-31 | |
0:03 | Micah Handlogten blocks B.J. Mack's three point jump shot | |||
0:01 | Micah Handlogten defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |