Feb. 21, 2018

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Men’s Basketball vs. Georgia

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Wesley Myers scored 15 points and made five of South Carolina’s 13 3-pointers as the Gamecocks beat Georgia 66-57 on Wednesday night.

South Carolina (15-13, 6-9 Southeastern Conference) led by 15 at halftime. The Gamecocks shot just 8-of-33 in the second half, but five of their made shots were 3s.

Georgia (5-12, 6-9) turned the ball over 17 times to just five turnovers for South Carolina.

The Bulldogs also went cold and sloppy in key stretches. They cut South Carolina’s lead to seven less than five minutes into the second half, but committed three offensive fouls an turned the ball over twice. They would hit just three of their next 14 shots to trail 58-50.

South Carolina made 13 3-pointers and just eight two-point baskets.

The Gamecocks shot 31 percent (21 of 68) from the field. They beat Georgia 64-57 on Jan. 13 shooting just 27 percent.

Chris Silva also scored 15 points for South Carolina despite playing just 19 minutes with foul trouble.

William Jackson II led Georgia with 14 points. Yante Maten added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Georgia: Two wins in a row had the Bulldogs looking like they could crawl back on the NCAA Tournament bubble. But a bad loss and a season sweep now by South Carolina has Georgia a lot closer to playing on the opening day of the SEC tournament than in the NCAAs. The Bulldogs are now tied for 10th in the SEC with South Carolina and Texas A&M.

South Carolina: It’s a longshot, but the Gamecocks might be able to sneak back in the NCAA Tournament a year after making it to the Final Four last season. South Carolina finishes the season at Mississippi State, at home with LSU and at Auburn. Win two of those and make a run in the SEC tournament could pull South Carolina into the NCAAs.

KEY STAT

For the second consecutive game, South Carolina’s bench was outstanding, scoring 41 points. The Gamecocks had a season-high 43 points in the win over No. 10 Auburn last Saturday.

NOTABLE

• Today’s victory marks a season sweep of the Bulldogs for the second-consecutive season. The last time that happened was the 2015 SEC season.
• The Gamecocks knocked down a season-high 13 3s on 31 attempts (42 percent). It’s just the fourth time Carolina has made double-digit 3s this season in a game. Three of those have come in league play (vs. Georgia, at Florida, vs. Tennessee).
• Carolina dished out 12 assists and had a season-low five turnovers. Redshirt junior guard Hassani Gravett played 35 minutes (season-high), led the team with five assists and had ZERO turnovers.
• Graduate transfer guard Wesley Myers scored 15 points, marking his second-straight game in double figures. It’s his most points since scoring a season-high 22 in the win at No. 20 Florida. He matched his career-high with five 3s (also at Florida).
• Sophomore forward Maik Kotsar pulled down nine big rebounds, marking a season-high. He guarded SEC leading-scorer Yante Maten most of the game, holding him to 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

UP NEXT

Carolina will play two of its final three games on the road, beginning with a 3:30 p.m. ET matchup at Mississippi State on Saturday. Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Sean Harrington (analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network. MSU posted an 81-76 win in Columbia in the first meeting between the two schools this season on Jan. 31.