GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After leading by as many as 14 in the second half against the Gamecocks, Mike White’s squad went ice-cold in the final seven minutes and fell to South Carolina on the final play of the game.

"Ah, man. You've got to stay aggressive,” White said Tuesday. “I'm just going to continue to preach to a couple of guys in particular that sometimes that can kind of be their M.O., to watch the clock. You see it in practice, you see it in certain games.

“Timid, especially with the lead about making a mistake as opposed to continuing to do what we were doing to get us the lead. You can't be afraid to turn the ball over, you can't be afraid to make a mistake late in games,” White continued.

“You've got to play with the same aggression and mentality and confident level that you played early in the game when we had a nice offensive rhythm.

“The only thing I know what to do, the only I've done and will continue to do is continue to talk about it, show it on film and then continue to evaluate who you have on the court. I guess that's all you can do."

It seemed as if Florida just ran out of gas in the second half, but the cold spell isn’t something new. The Gators have gone through ups and downs throughout the season and the biggest knock has been the lack of offensive production.

Long stretches without a field goal have been a thorn in Florida’s side all season. Give credit to the South Carolina, but White puts this past defeat on him.

”Really poor defensive effort,” White said of his team’s latest performance. “Did a poor job against their three-quarter-court zone press, one which we see every single day against each other in practice. Disappointing.

“I've got to do a better job of getting guys in better spots for zone press.,” headed. “We'll see zone press in Fayetteville. Silva was terrific. Hassani Gravett was great. Didn't do a very good job of locating him early. Those were the biggest thoughts. We blew one. We blew one. South Carolina came in here and just took it."

Although the Gators had given up their lead, a win was still within reach in the closing minute. With 17 seconds left there was time for one more offensive possession.

White took his guys into the huddle to come up with a plan.

“We were talking about what they were going to run, that’s it,” White said. “We didn’t know if they were going to come back out in man or zone. And so I’ve got a play sheet there with a bunch of stuff, a bunch of options. I had a discussion with the five guys on the floor. That was it, just trying figure out what to do.”

The play proceeded to fall unsuccessfully for the Gators and some believed that White didn’t actually call anything. He put any notion that he didn’t.

“I didn’t need to draw up a play, but yeah, we called a play,” White said. “We called a play we had run two or three times during the game. Andrew came off the ball screen.

“I believe Spidey was in the game, correct? Spidey dove for a pick-and-pop. We got it to Keyontae driving downhill. The ball was loose a little bit, of course. Hayes came up with it, so … that was it.

“Just trying to forecast, we wanted to be able to run something that would have some impact versus either defense because we did not know what defense they were going to come back out in.”

Next up, the Gators hit the road Wednesday to take on an Arkansas team that will test their discipline and effort especially. The Razorbacks like to play you a full 94 feet and will not let any bucket go uncontested.

It should be a good barometer of exactly what White is looking for.

“I mean quick turn and our guys know that it was a factor and that it'll be a factor in this one,” White said. “It's a different type press. Very different. But some of the same offensive concepts that we'll have to keep in mind. Mentality, aggressiveness will be key versus their press.

“Got to play confidently versus their press. You can look at press as 'Boy, I hope I don't turn this thing over' or 'I've got an opportunity here in the open floor to go make a play in transition offense.'"

You may also see a change in the lineup once again Wednesday night. It can catch the attention of players and it might be what White needs to do to try to focus his team up.

“That’s another reason why we do what we do from a shuffling standpoint,” White said. “I mean, people ask me all the time, why this, why that, why you get him out of the game? Well, if he did what he was supposed to do, I’d keep him in the game.

“Trust me. I would like to play five guys 40 minutes. My life would be so much easier. And you know what, we’d execute better, we’d know where we’re getting our shots from, we’d know who to call plays for.

“It’d be very, very simple and we’d be pretty damn good. If we could do that and defend at the level we’re defending, but we do not have that luxury because tomorrow I know we’re getting on a bus here at some point, get on a plane.

“When we play in Fayetteville again, I know what I’m getting from a few guys. We know what we’re gonna get. My assistants know what we’re gonna get. Not from a stat sheet perspective, from a guy is going to battle from a few guys.

“And there’s a couple others that are really competitive and if they make a shot now all of a sudden they might start playing with some confidence and they might guard at a high level, if they make a shot.

“Then there’s a couple others if the winds blowing the right way, the air conditioning’s blowing the right way they might play with their juices flowing. You just, you just don’t know.

“And there’s a couple that they might get off to a good start and then if I yank em for making a mistake or so and so doesn’t pass them the ball, their intensity level’s gonna do that. And that’s why we are who we are.

“That’s why we can look like a – literally ten days ago, we looked like a top-ten team in my opinion. Butler’s a good team, and then we can look like we did the other day. Not to take anything away from South Carolina.

“South Carolina came in here, they had had some poor performances. They came in here and they had their juices flowing, and they played really well, and they deserved it.”

Mak Krouse awarded scholarship

As for positives around this team lately, look no further than walk-on Mak Krause earning a scholarship. If you haven’t seen the video already, I highly suggest you devote a few minutes to do so now.

“It was a really cool deal,” White said. “Mak was, not too long ago he was doing our guys' laundry. And now he's not only playing with them, he's a scholarship guy. We had one open up, of course. And why not reward a guy who's got a lot of sweat equity in the program?

“He's been a loyal, hard-working guy. He's a good locker room guy. Tough kid. He's a winner, so we rewarded him and our guys, I'm not sure if you guys saw the reaction or not, but I thought it was neat the way our guys' level of excitement they had for him."

It was a great moment for a guy that has worked for everything he has received, and has been a fan favorite for the last few years.

Now he will be suiting up alongside every other guy just like he has done a hundred times, but now with nothing holding him back.

Injury news

Well, there is good news and bad news here. The good news is that Gorjok Gak is back practicing, according to White. However, with his injury he is now out of shape.

"Gak practiced yesterday for the first time,” White said. “Gorjok practiced yesterday versus, in competition, in the halfcourt at least. I think Duke will continue to evaluate him at some point here real soon, maybe today.

“I'm not sure. He might allow him to go in the fullcourt. He's out of shape. He's overweight. But he's Gorjok, you know? He's tall and long and good hands and he understands the game. It's great to have him out there. He's a good guy, and I think our guys were excited for him."