Gamecocks Falter Late In Overtime Loss To Georgia

The South Carolina Gamecocks' men's basketball team was unable to close the deal when it counted most against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Lamont Paris has continuously talked about growth regarding the goals of his inaugural season. On Saturday night against Mike White's Georgia Bulldogs, Paris' squad showed growth in certain aspects while simultaneously showing that they still have a ways to go in other areas. 

For a significant portion of last night's matchup, South Carolina looked like a team that had learned from their early season debacles, was playing with heightened confidence levels, and saw their best players rising to the occasion on consecutive possessions. The game felt like it was in the Gamecocks' hands until it wasn't.

The game's momentum began to shift with around twelve and a half minutes to play in the contest, at which point Carolina had a comfortable 12-point lead. Zachary Davis attempted to pass the ball back to the top of the key but made his intentions far too obvious, as Bulldog guard Terry Roberts would steal the pass and dunk the ball on the other end. Turnovers followed this up on the next two Gamecock possessions, leading to Georgia's coaching staff making a pivotal change in their defensive tactics.

Sensing the tide turning in the game, Mike White called for a full-court press defense, which stifled South Carolina to the tune of six more turnovers in the final twelve minutes of regulation. Georgia began attacking the paint through leading scorer Terry Roberts, which drew an abundance of fouls, and combined with their timely three-point shooting, Georgia took the lead with 1:40 left in the game. 

The Bulldogs would have a chance to win in the final seconds but missed their final shot and left too much time on the clock, which led to Zachary Davis having a chance to lay it in, but a Bulldog defender grazed the ball enough to cause Davis to lose his handle and force overtime. 

Through five more turnovers and 10 percent shooting from the floor, and Hayden Brown fouled out late in the second half, the Gamecocks never seemed to be able to regain the offensive flow they showed earlier in the evening. Despite this and some questionable calls by the officials, the Gamecocks had a chance to tie the game late and force a second overtime, but GG Jackson's long-range fadeaway three-pointer just missed the mark, hitting off the right iron.

South Carolina will play again on Tuesday night against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Colonial Life Arena.

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