FINAL: No. 11 South Carolina Blows Double-Digit Lead In Devastating Loss To LSU

South Carolina's men's basketball team had their chances, but let it slip through in their fingers it a gut-wrenching loss at home to the LSU Tigers.

After suffering a 40-point loss to the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night, Lamont Paris and South Carolina's men's basketball team came into Saturday afternoon's SEC affair against the LSU Tigers looking to get back on the winning track before their bye week next week.

The Gamecocks shooting woes they experienced in Neville Arena three days ago seemed to carry over in the first nine minutes of today's contest, as Carolina started 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from the floor, seemingly settling for a lot of shots that the Tigers were able to contest. At the same time, LSU was consistently getting within 12 feet of the basket, and despite the Gamecocks best efforts, Matt McMahon's squad hit 6 of their first 13 shots to go up 13-8.

However, the Gamecocks would catch fire between the 10:22 and 5:21 marks in the first half, as they would go on a 17-1 scoring run, doing a great job sharing the basketball, attacking driving lanes, and continuing to make life difficult for the Tigers, who sparsely found clean looks and thus began to miss more frequently. An 8-2 run by LSU at the end of the period, including a last-second coast-to-coast layup from Jordan Wright, would cut Carolina's lead to 7 as both teams head into the locker room.

Stephen Clark gets a hand up on LSU guard Trae Hannibal trying to make something happen with the ball (17th Feb., 2024) / Jeff Blake | USA Today Network

In the second half, the Gamecocks would attack the paint area and score six quick points in the first two and a half minutes of play before LSU would switch to a matchup zone and give up a wide-open three to Zachary Davis to make it a 9-0 run and increase their lead to as much as 16 points. From this point onward, the game would turn into a nightmare for South Carolina fans everywhere.

LSU would begin to slowly chip away at the Gamecocks lead over the next 15 minutes and eventually tie the game with 1:24 remaining. BJ Mack would turn around and hit a three-point shot with 55 seconds left, but Jordan Wright would convert on an and-one layup on the ensuing Tiger possession and tie things back up. Ta'Lon Cooper would hit another three with 29 seconds left, but once again, Jordan Wright would hit another layup to cut it one. A jump ball would give the Tigers the ball again, which was followed by a foul and two Jordan Wright free throws, giving LSU a one-point lead.

Jacobi Wright's last-second corner three attempt wouldn't connect, dropping the Gamecocks to 21-5 on the season.

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