Gators hang on to win sixth straight

Despite one of its worst shooting games of the season, No. 12 Florida was able to convert 15 of 16 free throw attempts in the final four minutes and hang on for a 74-66 win against South Carolina on Thursday night, its 18th straight home victory including a 12-0 start this season.

The game started as if it would be a blowout, then the Gators went into a shooting slump and the Gamecocks kept things close down the stretch. UF finally put it away despite shooting just 25 percent from 3-point range (7 of 28, including 1 of 13 in the second half) and 37.3 percent overall.

UF, which leads the nation in 3-pointers, had a season-low seven, and its overall shooting percentage was the second-worst of the year.

"I thought we were really wide open,'' Gators coach Billy Donovan said of many of the missed shots.

Kenny Boynton led Gators with 24 points and Bradley Beal added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Erving Walker had 14 points and seven assists — including a pair of foul shots with 50.1 seconds left to lock the game up.

"I think overall as a team we shot bad,'' Boynton said. "We were getting open looks, we just weren't hitting.''

Florida, which trailed only once in the game at 3-2, put together a 14-2 early run to take a 27-10 lead. But then UF lost its shooting touch and had to scratch its way to the win.

The Gators (18-4, 6-1) have won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the schools. USC has lost six of its last seven games, while the Gators have won a season-high six straight.

Bruce Ellington, who scored eight of the first 10 points for the Gamecocks (9-12, 1-6), got a bucket to get USC within 18-10 with 12:28 to go in the opening half. It would be more than four minutes before the Gamecocks would get another field goal.

Boynton, who hit three of his first four shots behind the arc, had five points in the 14-2 run and Mike Rosario had four.

For the fifth time in a row, Will Yeguete started at center and Patric Young came off the bench.

NO. 12 FLORIDA 74,