No. 12 Florida powers to another easy win over South Carolina

Field Level Media|published: Tue 17th February, 21:22 2026

NCAA Basketball: South Carolina at Florida

Feb 17, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Xaivian Lee (1) and South Carolina Gamecocks guard Eli Ellis (15) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Alex Condon led a dominant Florida frontcourt performance with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the No. 12 Gators beat South Carolina 76-62 on Tuesday night in Gainesville, Fla.

Holding down the top spot in the Southeastern Conference, the Gators (20-6, 11-2 SEC) increased their winning streak to six games, a run that began with a 95-48 romp over the Gamecocks on Jan. 28.

In the rematch, Florida produced a 44-28 edge in paint points and 47-30 advantage in rebounds.

The Gators' Rueben Chinyelu added 15 points and 17 rebounds, with seven of the boards coming off the offensive glass. Thomas Haugh scored 10 points and made 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Meechie Johnson posted 22 points, three rebounds and three steals for South Carolina (11-15, 2-11), which lost its seventh straight contest. Elijah Strong scored 10 points.

After a three-point play from Johnson opened the scoring, the Gators went on a 10-0 run that featured five points from Chinyelu.

Just before the midpoint of the half, Boogie Fland sent an alley-oop pass that Condon thundered home for a 20-10 lead, and the gap grew to 27-15 on Fland's layup.

While the Gators maintained the double-digit lead, Johnson kept the visitors in it by scoring 10 points in just over 15 minutes of play. South Carolina cut the deficit to 31-23, but a steal and breakaway layup from Xaivian Lee left the home side up 39-29 at halftime.

Chinyelu had led Florida with 11 points and 13 rebounds before the break -- one less board than the Gamecocks' total -- and hit 15 of 31 (48.4%) from the field.

Johnson tallied 12 first-half points, but the Gamecocks made just 11 of 31 (35.5%) from the floor.

Florida pounded the ball inside in the first three minutes of the second half on a 7-2 run, but Johnson continued to answer for the visitors as their only player in double figures.

Condon's three-point play with 6:52 left put the Gators up by 20, and they pulled away for their 11th win in the past 12 games.

--Field Level Media

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