So close! It's no secret that the South Carolina men's basketball team has struggled for the majority of the season, but Gamecock fans got their hopes up as the team seemed to turn things around late in the season.
South Carolina had one last chance to make a statement at home on Sunday night, but couldn't pull off the upset, falling 73-64 to the Bulldogs. While the momentum seemed to be there, the Gamecocks struggled to keep pace against Georgia, missing crucial opportunities.
The Bulldogs started out strong, shooting above 60% for much of the first half, while South Carolina struggled, shooting just 34.45 from the field. Turnover percentage was better than previous games, but Georgia's defense made an impact, blocking shots- two each from Jacobi Wright and Zachary Davis, plus one from Arden Conyers. Georgia took the lead by 11 heading into the half.
The Gamecocks made a push, cutting the deficit to five with back-to-back threes from Collin Murray-Boyles and Jamarii Thomas, despite a called back layup from CMB shortly after.
Georgia responded with an 8-0 run in less than two minutes, while Murray-Boyles missed two critical free throws in the final minute of the game. In the end, the Gamecocks (12-18, 2-15 SEC) couldn't complete the upset, falling to the Bulldogs 73-64 on Senior Night in Columbia.
With this loss, South Carolina is officially locked in as the No. 16 seed for next week's SEC Tournament and will face the No. 19 seed on Wednesday, March 12, at 1 p.m. in Nashville, TN. However, the Gamecocks will wrap up the regular season on Saturday in Knoxville against Tennessee. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.