COLUMBIA, S.C. — Thomas Haugh scored 18 points while Rueben Chinyelu had 14 points and 11 rebounds as No. 19 Florida pounded South Carolina 95-48 on Wednesday night.
The Gators (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) came in off a disappointing home loss to Auburn this past Saturday and, once they got going, took it out on the Gamecocks (11-10, 2-6).
“I’m really proud of our team,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “We had a tough loss on Saturday. Just kind of got our butts kicked at home, and this was an opportunity for our guys to prove that we can respond the right way. I thought our mentality was good in practice yesterday and the walkthrough today.”
Neither team look sharp early, with Florida missing five of its first seven shots and South Carolina going 1 of 6 as the Gators led 12-8. Then Florida turned it into a rout with a 36-12 run.
Urban Klavzar got things going with back-to-back 3s. Haugh made four straight shots — the Gators had a stretch of 10 in a row — including a three-point play and a 3 to put Florida up 46-18.
Florida finished by matching its largest margin of victory in an SEC road game, according to ESPN.
South Carolina fans began heading to the exits with about 30 seconds until halftime. Most did not return as the Gamecocks lost for the fifth time in six games and dropped their third straight to Florida.
Gators freshman Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, entered for the final 1:49 after the Florida bench got supporters to call for him. The 7-foot-9 Rioux never came close to scoring.
Chinyelu shot 7 of 7 from the field in his 12th double-double of the season. Alex Condon finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Gators.
Eli Ellis led South Carolina with 13 points.
Up next
Florida: Hosts No. 23 Alabama on Sunday.
South Carolina: Hosts LSU on Saturday night.