South Carolina withstood a furious late rally by Florida and picked up a huge SEC road win, 72-69, in Gainesville on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (11-5, 2-1) ended Florida’s five-game win streak behind freshman guard Bruce Ellington’s 23 points.

But the biggest shot came from 6-9 senior Sam Muldrow, whose 3-pointer from the wing pushed the lead to four with 53 seconds left.

Florida (13-4, 2-1) erased a 10-point, second-half deficit but never could grab the lead. The Gators hurt themselves at the foul line, making 12 of 22. Junior guard Erving Walker led the Gators with 17 points, but missed a crucial one-and-one with just over a minute left.

The Gamecocks bounced back from their worst offensive performance, a 57-47 loss at Alabama, with a balanced attack. Muldrow, Lakeem Jackson and Brian Richardson each scored 10.

South Carolina, which led 35-25 at the half, outrebounded Florida 36-32.