Men's Basketball . February 14, 2018

Carolina's Comeback at No. 18 Tennessee Falls Just Shy

Game #1

Feb. 13, 2018

Men’s Basketball at No. 18/17 Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Grant Williams scored 22 points and made a big basket in the closing seconds Tuesday as No. 18 Tennessee edged South Carolina 70-67 to hand the Gamecocks their sixth consecutive loss.

Tennessee (19-6, 9-4 SEC) has won seven of its last eight and 10 of its last 12. The Volunteers got back on track three nights after losing 78-50 at Alabama for their most lopsided defeat of the season.

South Carolina (13-13, 4-9) continued its slide as the Gamecocks have spent the last three weeks falling out of NCAA Tournament contention one season after their first Final Four appearance.

The Gamecocks made this one interesting, though.

After trailing 68-59 with 2 1/2 minutes left, South Carolina scored eight straight points and got to within one on Frank Booker’s driving basket with 36 seconds remaining.

Tennessee answered on its next possession as Williams made a move around Chris Silva and scored with 11 seconds left.

After calling a timeout with 8.6 seconds remaining, South Carolina worked toward a potential game-tying 3-pointer. But Justin Minaya’s attempt from beyond the arc fell short of the front rim as the buzzer sounded.

Booker scored 19 points to lead South Carolina, while Silva and Hassani Gravett added 12 points each. Jordan Bowden scored 14 and Admiral Schofield added 13 for Tennessee.

The game was physical from the start, as the two teams combined for more fouls (25) than baskets (21) in the first half. South Carolina’s Maik Kotsar and Felipe Haase already had picked up three fouls each by halftime.

South Carolina tied the game 40-all on an Evan Hinson jumper with 18:29 left, but Tennessee answered with six straight points. After South Carolina got back to within 48-45, Tennessee went on a 10-0 run. Lamonte’ Tuner capped that spurt with a 3-pointer that extended Tennessee’s lead to 58-45 with 11:05 remaining.

But the Gamecocks refused to go away and managed to stay in the game all the way up to the final shot.

KEY STAT

Despite being outscored 8-2 down the stretch by Carolina, Tennessee shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from the field in the second half and led by as many as 14 with 10 minutes to play in the game.

NOTABLE

Graduate transfer guard Frank Booker had another big game off the bench, scoring 19 points in 32 minutes. He went 10-for-11 at the free throw line, marking career highs in both makes and attempts.
Carolina went 17-for-21 at the free throw line (81 percent) in the game. Booker and junior forward Chris Silva (6-for-6) combined to go 16-for-17 (94 percent) on foul shots.
Sophomore big man Khadim Gueye (13) and freshman Jason Cudd (14) combined to play 27 minutes off the bench Tuesday night in Knoxville. Gueye’s 13 minutes of action are a season-high.
The Vols held a narrow 32-29 edge on the glass, marking just the third time in SEC play the Gamecocks have been out-rebounded by their opponent.

UP NEXT

South Carolina returns to Columbia for two-straight contests beginning on Saturday when SEC leading Auburn visits Colonial Life Arena. Tip time vs. the 10th-ranked Tigers is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. It’s 2018 Legends Weekend for Gamecock men’s basketball and former Carolina standouts Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice and PJ Dozier will be in attendance to receive their 2017 NCAA East Regional Champion rings in a special halftime ceremony.