South Carolina headed to Final Four, beats Florida 77-70
A team known for a swarming zone used it effectively down the stretch to beat Florida 77-70 on Sunday and win the East Regional at Madison Square Garden.
Sindarius Thornwell scored 26 points for the seventh-seeded Gamecocks (26-10) against the fourth-seeded Gators (27-9) in the all-SEC matchup.
“Gamecock Nation, we heard you loud and clear,” head coach Frank Martin roared as the team prepared to cut down the nets.
Thornwell, the regional MVP, followed the deciding free throws with a nice assist to Maik Kotsar for a four-point lead.
Plays needed to be made down the stretch and I stepped up and made plays.
PJ Dozier added 17 points for the Gamecocks, Chris Silva had 13 and Kotsar 12.
Justin Leon had 18 points for the Gators, who owned a 40-33 halftime lead on 7-for-12 shooting from three-point range.