Richard caps comeback as Florida tops South Carolina

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Florida guard Will Richard waves to fans after the Gators defeated South Carolina on Wednesday. Richard had the winning basket. Scott Kinser / ap

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The Associated Press

Will Richard scored on a driving layup with 4.8 seconds remaining to lift No. 5 Florida — down 14 points in the the second half — past South Carolina, 70-69 on Wednesday night.

Richard finished with 22 points for the Gators (17-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference). He drove left from the top of the key and banked in the go-ahead layup.

Jacobi Wright’s desperation 3-pointer was off the mark as South Carolina (10-9, 0-6) continued its worst start in SEC play since the 2013-14 season.

NO. 7 HOUSTON 70, UTAH 36: Milos Uzan scored 14 points, L.J. Cryer added 13 points and the Cougars routed the Utes for their 11th straight win. J’Wan Roberts had 11 points and Terrance Arceneaux scored 10 points for the Cougars (15-3, 7-0 Big 12). Houston won its 33rd consecutive home game, which is the longest active streak in the nation.

Gabe Madsen scored eight points and Keanu Dawes added seven points and nine rebounds for Utah (11-7, 3-4).

NO. 12 KANSAS 74, TCU 61: Hunter Dickinson had 16 points to lead five Kansas players scoring in double figures as the 12th-ranked Jayhawks (14-4, 5-2 Big 12) won after trailing by 14 points in the first half.

AJ Storr scored 10 of his 12 points after halftime for the Jayhawks. His stepback jumper with 11:30 left put them ahead to stay, right after the junior guard had turnovers on consecutive possessions, and ignited a 14-2 run he ended with a jumper.

Noah Reynolds had 14 points to lead TCU (10-8, 3-4).

NO. 13 TEXAS A&M 63, NO. 16 MISSISSIPPI 62: Manny Obaseki hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to cap an 11-2 closing run in as the Aggies (15-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated the the Rebels (15-4, 4-2).

NO. 20 ST. JOHN’S 78, XAVIER 71: Zuby Ejiofor scored six of his 16 points in overtime and the Red Storm (17-3, 8-1 Big East) erased a 16-point deficit in the second half to rally past Xavier. Ryan Conwell had 21 points for the Musketeers (12-8, 4-5), who had won three in a row. Dailyn Swain scored 16 before being helped off the court with an apparent leg injury late in the second half.