South Carolina Victorious in Final Regular Season Game Against Georgia

Though it was a rocky year, South Carolina closed out the regular season with a close win at home against Georgia.

South Carolina came into Saturday looking for their 11th win of the season and a big momentum boost heading into the SEC Tournament. Though things haven't been too bright for the Gamecocks men's team this season, South Carolina still has the potential to do some damage in the tournament.

After a bad stretch of basketball from January to early February, South Carolina began to string together a few good performances, even if the win column wasn't increasing. Minus the Tennessee game last week, South Carolina has looked like a much-improved team over their past five performances. This newfound success can be seen in South Carolina's final regular season game against Georgia, in which the Gamecocks came out victorious 61-55.

Though South Carolina came into the game hot, scoring the first seven points, Georgia quickly claimed the lead and held it for the entirety of the first half. The Bulldogs were led by Mardrez McBride and Terry Roberts offensively in the first half. The two scored eight and seven, respectively. The Gamecocks spread the scoring fairly evenly amongst Meechie Johnson, Jacobi Wright, and Hayden Brown trio.

Though the Gamecocks were down at the end of the first half, the team played an excellent five minutes of basketball to close the half, going on a 7-2 run to bring the game within one possession. The final five minutes of the first half would be a precursor to the second half when the Gamecocks would continue to control the game. Johnson, who had a great first half for South Carolina, and GG Jackson started the half hot, combining for eight points to give the Gamecocks the lead.

As the game continued, the game became tighter and tighter, with both teams trading buckets and swapping leads down the stretch. There were eight lead changes in the final ten minutes of the game. The offense was fluid, and ball movement was present for the Gamecocks down the stretch. Every player on the floor for South Carolina put the ball on the floor and got buckets. 

Both teams entered the game's final two minutes, but one player stepped up and won the game for their team. Meechie Johnson scored seven points in those two minutes and nailed crucial shots down the stretch to maintain South Carolina's lead. Ultimately, South Carolina was able to fend off the Bulldogs long enough to keep their lead.

Johnson led the Gamecocks with 18 points and seven assists, with Wright and Brown providing 14 and 13 points. Guard Terry Roberts led the scoring charge for the Bulldogs with 14 points.

With the regular season coming to a close, the SEC tournament will start on Wednesday, meaning the Gamecocks will be suiting up in a few days as they finished near the bottom of the SEC.

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