Feb. 23, 2006

Final Stats

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Billy Humphrey’s putback with 26.1 seconds remaining ended the scoring as Georgia held off South Carolina 48-47 in a sloppy Southeastern Conference matchup Thursday night.

The teams combined for 38 turnovers, including one by Georgia’s Kevin Brophy and another by South Carolina’s Tre Kelley in the final 2.1 seconds.

Renaldo Balkman missed a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer that would have won it for the Gamecocks.

Mike Mercer scored 11 points, and Sundiata Gaines 10 for the Bulldogs, who swept a season series from South Carolina for the first time in three years.

Humphrey, who grabbed the ball after Levi Stukes missed a 3-pointer from the right corner, scooped in a shot past two defenders. He finished with eight points.

Mercer and Humphrey were coming off a one-game suspension Georgia coach Dennis Felton gave the freshmen for violating an unspecified team rule.

The Gamecocks (14-12, 5-8 SEC) have lost two straight. They couldn’t hold a 47-46 lead after Brandon Wallace hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 2.21 remaining.

Georgia (15-11, 5-8) ended a three-game losing streak in the series with a 64-61 overtime victory Jan. 14.

The teams combined for a 6-for-33 performance on 3-point attempts. Guards Levi Stukes of the Bulldogs and Tarence Kinsey of the Gamecocks combined to go 0-for-11.

Kinsey led South Carolina with 15 points. Wallace had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Despite taking possession with 21.7 seconds remaining, the Gamecocks couldn’t get off a shot until Balkman’s ill-fated jumper. Younes Idrissi blocked Kelley’s baseline runner out of bounds with 11.3 seconds left.

Kelley committed his fourth turnover from the same spot on the floor, approximately 14 feet right of the basket, when he inadvertently passed the ball to Gaines.

Steve Newman gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 29-19 when he hit a 3 from the right corner with 17:38 remaining.

Rocky Trice put South Carolina up 32-31 less than five minutes later when he rebounded Kinsey’s missed 3 and hit an eight-footer.