Florida 72, South Carolina 68: Dorian Finney-Smith led all players with 20 points and seven rebounds as the visiting Gators held off the Gamecocks in the SEC opener for both teams.

Michael Frazier II added 17 points, including three 3-pointers, for Florida (8-6, 1-0 SEC), which snapped a two-game losing streak. Kasey Hill contributed nine points and Jacob Kurtz chipped in with eight to go with six rebounds for the Gators, who outrebounded South Carolina 37-23.

Tyrone Johnson scored 20 points, including 9-of-9 from the free throw line, to lead the offense for the Gamecocks (9-4, 0-1), who saw a seven-game win streak go by the wayside. Mindaugas Kacinas totaled nine points and five rebounds and Laimonas Chatkevicius scored eight points and recorded two blocks for South Carolina, which failed to capitalize on the momentum of an upset over No. 16 Iowa State on Saturday.

Florida jumped out to the early lead, scoring the game's first six points as part of a 17-6 run in the opening 5 1/2 minutes that featured eight consecutive points from Frazier. After a timeout, South Carolina battled back, using an 11-0 spurt, led by a pair of buckets from Marcus Stroman, to knot the game at 17-17 just before the midway point of the period and after a Finney-Smith dunk gave the Gators a late first half lead, Kacinas converted a layup and Duane Notice sunk a 3-pointer to send the Gamecocks into halftime with a 34-31 advantage.

After the break, Florida went cold, missing five consecutive field goal attempts and committing three turnovers as South Carolina extended its lead to 40-34 in the opening minutes of the second half. A 3-pointer from Frazier sprung the Gators on a 17-6 surge for a 58-50 lead with 6:22 to play and after Kacinas struck from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions and Johnson followed with a three-point play to pull the Gamecocks to within 70-68 with seven seconds remaining, Eli Carter sank a pair of free throws to preserve the Florida victory.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida improved to 14-5 in SEC openers and 27-11 against South Carolina under coach Billy Donovan. ... After averaging 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and two assists as the SEC's most recent Player of the Week, Gamecocks G Sindarius Thornwell finished with just five points and two assists, shooting 1-of-4 from the field. ... Outside of Finney-Smith and Frazier, the Gators shot 0-for-8 from 3-point range.