South Carolina Defeats Georgetown In Overtime

South Carolina got off to a sloppy start but came roaring back, forcing overtime and scrapping their way to a win.

South Carolina played the second of their two-game stretch in the nation's capital on Saturday afternoon, and secured a much needed bounce back win against the Hoyas. What lead to the final result?

Early Self Inflicted Errors

One of the reasons South Carolina got throttled by George Washington was the fact that they didn't help themselves much on either end of the floor. After the first eight minutes of the first half, this theme reared it's ugly head once again for the Gamecocks.

Offensively, South Carolina has clear and significant problems being able to create and capitalize on opportunities in the front court. They also had ten turnovers, including one stretch where they gave the ball away on three straight possessions.

On the defensive end, the Hoyas were pests on the offensive glass, while the Gamecocks had a disproportionate amount of fouls called against them.

Jackson's 2nd Half Fury

Being down eleven at half, head coach Lamont Paris went to more of a small ball lineup and subsequently played more five-out ball offensively. This allowed for some drive and kick opportunities, and forward GG Jackson would be the beneficiary of two early monumental three-point shots.

With the increased confidence, Jackson’s instincts took over, as he begin to nail multiple tough shots near the basket He scored 22 second half points and helped the Gamecocks fight back to take the lead near the end of regulation. However, Hoya guard Primo Spears hit a clutch mid-range jumper with five seconds on the clock to give Georgetown a one-point edge. 

On the ensuing possession, forward Hayden Brown would have his jersey grabbed and held, leading to no shot for the Gamecocks. The referees convened and deemed that the grabbing of the jersey was an unnecessary and flagrant foul against Georgetown.Brown would make the first free throw to tie the game, but miss the next, which was followed by a last second miss by GG Jackson, requiring overtime to decide the winner.

Overtime

In an understandably sluggish overtime period, tied with 47 seconds left, Chico Carter Jr. would miss a three. Still, forward Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk corraled the ball and subsequently kicked out to Meechie Johnson, who would nail a 25-foot three-pointer to give the Gamecocks the lead.

The Hoyas then took a timeout, but could never find basket, as the Gamecocks blanketed shots from both Brandon Murray and Primo Spears to achieve a much-needed win to end the road trip. 

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