The South Carolina men’s basketball team (12-18, 2-15 SEC) lost 64-73 to the Georgia Bulldogs (19-11, 7-10 SEC) on senior night in its final home game of the season on Tuesday at Colonial Life Arena.
“It’s hard because our recipe for winning typically doesn’t involve 40 points in a half,” head coach Lamont Paris said.
The Bulldogs took an early lead in the game, making the score 21-12 just 10 minutes into the game. Georgia sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr. scored 7 of his team-high 16 points in that span.
The Gamecocks spent most of the first half attempting to close the gap but were unable to catch up to a strong lead. South Carolina finished the first half with an 11-point deficit at 40-29.
The Bulldogs were able to take the first-half lead with a strong effort of shooting 16-30 (53.3%) from the field, in addition to bringing in 19 rebounds. Meanwhile, South Carolina shot 11-32 (34.4%) from the field, entering halftime with an unfortunate scoring gap.
The Gamecocks came back strong in the second half, scoring 6 points within the first three minutes, making the score 40-35. Despite South Carolina emerging offensively to begin the half, Georgia held onto its lead with a heavy grip.
South Carolina shot 14-19 (73.7%) from the free-throw line in the second half to help close the margin as both teams committed double-digit fouls in the second half.
South Carolina tightened its trail in the last two minutes of the game, but Georgia responded quickly after a foul shot from sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles to keep the score at a tight 60-64.
The teams went back and forth for the last few minutes of the game. However, Georgia finished strong by taking care of the ball, scoring 7 points in the last minute of the game to seal the victory. The Bulldogs recorded just six turnovers in the second half.
Murray-Boyles continued to show his impact on the team, leading the way with a team-high 24 points. Murray-Boyles has scored in double figures in all but three games during the season.
Lots of 3-pointers from the Gamecocks
The Gamecocks brought a specific concentration to their shot diet by utilizing the 3-point line. In the first half, 15 of their 29 points came from 3-pointers. They quickly scored two more in the first three minutes of the second half from the hands of Murray-Boyles and senior guard Jamarii Thomas.
By the end of the game, 30 of South Carolina's 64 points came from 3-pointers, nearly half of the team's total points. The 10 made 3-pointers were just the fifth instance of double-digit 3-pointers on the season and just the first time since conference play started.
The Gamecocks ended the game shooting 10-23 (43.5%) from behind the arc.
Tough interior play from the Bulldogs
The Gamecocks struggled to score against the Bulldogs while giving up 40 points in the first half. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Gamecocks 37-23 in the game.
Paris said that Georgia had a number of players make difficult shots, and that mixed with a few failed plays was not an ideal way to start the game.
“We had a couple moments that were real moments that were chances for us to do something defensively and really put ourselves in a position to take the lead," Paris said. "We didn't handle those situations great.”
Georgia also played very physically by crowding the paint, leading to defensive struggles for the Gamecocks.
"One thing they do well is they pack off each other," graduate forward Nick Pringle said. "They were shrinking the floor a lot, they were good on rotations."
Georgia stays strong
Georgia shot 26-54 (48.1%) from the field, while South Carolina was able to shoot 19-51 (37.3%). Georgia had strong possession over the ball with only eight turnovers and maintained its lead over the Gamecocks for the entire duration of the game.
Pringle had even said that they had a good defense, and Coach Paris said they had played competitively.
Georgia scored 24 points off the bench, while South Carolina only scored 9 points off the bench, giving Georgia that advantage as well.
What's next?
South Carolina (12-18, 2-15 SEC) will be on the road at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, to play the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers (24-5, 11-5 SEC) in the last game of its regular season on Saturday afternoon. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.