Aberdeen, Haugh Spark Gators to Win over South Carolina

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Sparked by 22 points from Denzel Aberdeen and 20 points from Thomas Haugh, No. 3 Florida Gators on Saturday surged to an 88-67 win against the South Carolina Gamecocks at home.

Aberdeen, who shot 8-for-12 on the night and hit five 3-pointers, scored 13 points in the second half on 4-for-5 shooting from deep, which including back-to-back 3-pointers to push Florida's lead to 21 points with 12:24 left in the game.

Following a 20-point effort on Tuesday at Mississippi State, Saturday marked the first time in Aberdeen's career that he's scored at least 20 points in multiple games of a season.

we see you, zel 👀

🔹with his back-to-back 3's zel sets his career high of 21 points & three-pointers made

📺SECN
Gators 61 | Gamecocks 40 pic.twitter.com/XvCl2zt2PO
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 16, 2025

Haugh, meanwhile, scored a career-high 20 points, marking the first time he's hit the 20-point mark in his career. He added six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in the win.

Aberdeen's and Haugh's individual performances, though, were a microcosm of an overall strong shooting effort from Florida, which saw the Gators shoot over 60 percent from the field and 14-for-28 from 3-point territory as a team.

Although without forwards Alex Condon and Sam Alexis, the Gators saw the return of star guard Alijah Martin (hip pointer) and center Micah Handlogten (ankle), who both came off the bench.

Martin scored 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, while Handlogten, who last played in last year's SEC Tournament final, scored two points with three rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Handlogten made an immediate impact with an assist on his first possession on a 3-pointer by Aberdeen, which gave Florida a 15-6 lead.

Welcome back, Micah Handlogten!

An assist on his first possession. #Gators pic.twitter.com/iZ04ia6uxD
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) February 16, 2025

South Carolina surged back, though, with a 17-3 run to take the lead the game near the 11-minute mark. The Gamecocks hit three 3-pointers during the run while Florida missed 4-of-5 shots after starting 6-for-6.

A pair of 3-pointers from Clayton Jr. and Urban Klavzar cut Florida's deficit to one point as South Carolina took a 25-24 lead into the under-12 timeout. Buckets from Rueben Chinyelu and Aberdeen gave Florida a 28-27 lead near the eight-minute mark, and a 3-pointer from Martin extended the Gators' lead to four points with 3:29 left in the half.

a-mart with a threeee

📺SECN
Gators 35 | Gamecocks 31 pic.twitter.com/i7XpUQbdCn
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 16, 2025

UF would eventually take a 37-33 lead into the half, and a pair of 3-pointers from Aberdeen and Haugh quickly extended the Gators' lead to 10 points early in the second half.

Meanwhile, South Carolina would miss nine-straight field goals after taking a 29-28 lead in the first half before ending the field goal drought with a 3-pointer and a dunk early in the second half. By then, though, Florida held a nine-point lead, before the Gators hit five-straight 3-pointers to eventually push the lead to 22 points.

Aberdeen hit three of Florida's five 3-pointers during the run, including back-to-back shots to push Florida's lead to 21 points before South Carolina added a bucket to cut the lead. Martin and Haugh added the other two during the run as Florida continued to push its lead, which never got lower than 20 points after Haugh's 3-pointer with 11:23 left.

TOMMY ❌
WILL SLAM 🔥

📺SECN
Gators 77 | Gamecocks 54 pic.twitter.com/IWUVCrXXoz
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 16, 2025

Next Up

The Gators (22-3, 9-3 SEC) will remain at home for a matchup on Tuesday against Oklahoma (16-9, 3-9 SEC), which begins at 7 p.m. Television coverage will be on ESPN 2. This will be the first matchup between the two programs since the Sooners joined the SEC.