COLUMBIA – When Meechie Johnson gets an extra bounce in his step, opponents may want to buckle up.

Johnson felt particularly energetic Saturday, and the result was another South Carolina basketball victory.

Johnson scored 25 points, including 21 in the second half, as South Carolina rallied past Florida 82-76 in a key late-season SEC showdown at Colonial Life Arena.

Johnson, who had just four points on 1-of-5 shooting at the half, erupted after the break, making nine of his 10 shots in the final 20 minutes.

"He got into a couple of situations and he finished them and you could see the little extra bounce in his step," South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. "His moments kept coming and he kept performing. His confidence swelled at that point.

"When it came time for Meechie to stand up on a couple of those shots, the stage was set for him to make those plays."

The biggest was a 3-pointer from deep on the left wing that snapped a 74-74 tie with 46 seconds remaining.

"Late in the game I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team," Johnson said. "I knew we needed to get something. It felt good. I felt confident."

The victory enabled South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC) to inch closer to the top of the SEC standings. The Gamecocks are one-half game behind Alabama and Tennessee, which played later Saturday at Alabama.

"We’ve been trying to prove so many things this year," Paris said. "We kept saying as you stack these things together ultimately there will be a bigger prize.

"Now you’re looking in he face of a potential SEC regular-season championship, which is the hardest thing to do. Not many teams can say with two games left they're in position to potentially get a piece of the SEC championship."

South Carolina will host Tennessee on Wednesday in its final home game of the season, then travel to Mississippi State for the regular-season finale.

But Saturday was special as South Carolina prevailed in the first matchup of Top 25 teams at Colonial Life Arena since January 2017 – a 57-53 win by the Gamecocks over the Gators.

The Gamecocks improved to 14-2 this season at home. Florida (20-9, 10-6), which entered having won nine of 11, had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Jacobi Wright added a season-high 16 points, and Collin Murray-Boyle had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina is 15-3 in games decided by 10 or fewer points this season.

South Carolina was effective at slowing the pace and turning the game into a halfcourt contest, at least early. The score was tied at 4 five minutes into the game before the offenses awakened. The Gamecocks pulled ahead 14-6, but the Gators responded with a 14-0 run for a 20-14 advantage with 8:42 left in the opening half.

South Carolina held Walter Clayton Jr. scoreless much of the first half before he sank a pair of 3-point shots in the final 2:08 to maintain the Gators’ six-point lead at the half, 37-31.

Gamecocks' Jacobi Wright notches season best

Jacobi Wright continued his solid play for the Gamecocks. Wright, who had averaged seven points in South Carolina’s past three games, scored a season-high 16 against Florida. It marked the first time he’d led South Carolina in scoring this season.

The junior guard from Fort Mill was 4-of-8 shots from 3-point range, matching his season high.

"Jacobi early in the game kept us in it when we were kind of struggling," Paris said.

South Carolina's zone defense pays off

After Florida extended its lead to 10 in the second half, South Carolina switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense, which helped create eight turnovers down the stretch. The Gamecocks finished with eight steals and 13 points off turnovers.

"We just wanted to be aggressive and impact the ball at the top," Davis said. "Have active hands, active feet. Everybody did what they had to do and we caused havoc for them."

Mack comes up short vs. Gators

B.J. Mack struggled to find the range against Florida, scoring a season-low two points. He was held scoreless until converting a layup with 16:47 left in the game and finished having made just 1-of-7 from the field.

Mack, who entered the game as the Gamecocks’ second-leading scorer with a 13.6 average, had his previous low point total with a four-point game against DePaul on Nov. 17.

Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina tops Florida behind Meechie Johnson's 25 points