That same scenario would play out again and again. South Carolina would make a couple of plays and have a chance to really make Florida sweat. Five times it pulled back within five points or less, and each time there was an errant pass, a blown defensive assignment, or a missed rebound to give momentum back to Florida.

But the inconsistency was too much to overcome in the second half. Florida stretched the lead out to seven, and sensing the game was slipping away, Frank Martin called a timeout. South Carolina responded with a 6-0 run, but missed a free throw that could have tied it. Moments later, Florida went on a 7-0 run to take a 61-53 lead.

The Gamecocks started fast and led 20-16 midway through the first half. But they struggled on the glass, allowing the Gators to hang around, and struggled with consistency and shooting. Free throws kept them in the game, but Florida shot lights out (50 percent) in the first half to take a 40-37 halftime lead.

South Carolina only turned the ball over 14 times, but they were at critical times and Martin called them “deflating.”

“We’re fighting, we’re battling, defensively we’re doing better, we cut it to one and have three consecutive awful turnovers,” Martin said. “We’re down seven or eight and we battle and cut it to two and have two consecutive deflating turnovers.”

With leading scorer Kerry Blackshear limited by foul trouble, point guard Andrew Nembhard took over. He finished with 21 points and 10 assists, and hit the back-breaking three with two minutes left that kicked off a game-ending 8-0 run.

“That’s as well as he’s played in my opinion as a Gator,” Florida coach Mike White said. “He’s learning to pick his spots in transition versus executing in the halfcourt. He’s an elite passer.”

“He was fantastic.”

Florida outrebounded South Carolina 42-30, and had 12 offensive rebounds and 10 second chance points. South Carolina had just six second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds, despite missing 37 shots.

“They had us on rotations a lot of times,” Maik Kotsar said. “We were scrambling to contest a shot and then get back to our man. At that point it’s hard to box out when you’re not guarding your man.”

Kotsar led South Carolina with a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. He also had two steals, and played strong defense on Kerry Blackshear, Florida’s leading scorer. Keyshawn Bryant added 14, and Jair Bolden and AJ Lawson had 12. But Lawson shot just 3-15 and struggled to finish at the rim. White praised Lawson, but said that Florida got lucky.

“He missed some for us,” White said. “He just did.”

Notes:

Jermaine Couisnard missed the game with a back strain. His absence was especially felt in the first half when Justin Minaya had to sit after two minutes with two fouls. … Trae Hannibal had four points and a steal in just two minutes of action. … South Carolina made its first 11 free throws, and finished 18-24 from the line. … Florida was 19-25 from the line. … Announced attendance was 10,651. … South Carolina’s next game is Saturday at Tennessee.