GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Udonis Haslem had 24 points and 10 rebounds as third-ranked Florida opened defense of its Southeastern Conference championship by beating South Carolina 69-60 Saturday. <br>
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The Gators (12-1) won their school-record 11th straight game, building a 31-24 halftime lead and breaking it open with a 12-2 surge late in the second half. <br>
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Haslem, who made nine of 13 shots, keyed the spurt with a short jumper and a rebound dunk. He, Matt Bonner and Orien Greene were the only Florida players to score in the second half until James White's 3-pointer increased the lead to 60-43 with 5:01 left. <br>
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South Carolina (10-4) did a fairly good job of handling Florida's relentless fullcourt defensive pressure. But the Gamecocks missed 23 of 32 shots in the opening half and shot just 37 percent (23-of-62) for the game. <br>
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Despite the loss, South Carolina has won nine of 11 since losing to Duke and UCLA on successive nights in November. Aaron Lucas led the Gamecocks with 14 points, and Jamel Bradley had 10 of his 13 in the second half. <br>
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South Carolina upset Florida 69-68 in last season's SEC opener, overcoming a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes at home. But the closest Dave Odom's team could get down the stretch Saturday was nine on three free throws by Lucas in the closing seconds. <br>
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Bonner, Florida's second-leading scorer, made four straight shots and scored nine of the Gators' first 11 points in the second half after going scoreless in the first half. <br>
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Brett Nelson finished with 12 points, and Justin Hamilton had 11 as Florida shot 50 percent (25-for-50), including 14 of 24 (58.3 percent) in the second half.
