No. 18/20 Bulldogs Rally By Gamecocks, 75-70

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kanon Catchings scored 20 points, Somto Cyril had 14 of his 18 points in the second half and No. 18 Georgia rallied from eight points down with less than nine minutes left to defeat South Carolina 75-70 on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (14-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had trailed by as many as 12 points and were down 62-54 after Eli Ellis’ basket with 8:45 remaining. That’s when Georgia started a 15-2 run, fueled by reserve Marcus Millender’s jumper and 3-pointer.

South Carolina (10-6, 1-2) took its final lead, 64-63, on Elijah Strong’s inside basket with 5:42 to go. On Georgia’s next possession, Gamecocks guard Kevin Knox was called for a flagrant foul against Cyril, who made two foul shots to put Georgia ahead to stay.

Meechie Johnson’s long 3-pointer brought South Carolina within 73-70 with 5.2 seconds left, but Millender hit two foul shots to seal things.

The hard-fought victory was a welcome one for the Bulldogs, who were beaten by defending national champion Florida earlier this week.

Mike Sharavjamts had 18 points, one shy of his career high, to lead the Gamecocks. Knox finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Georgia came in leading the country in points per game (97.1) and was anxious to get back on the winning track after a 92-77 loss at Florida earlier this week. The Bulldogs came out with a 7-0 burst, but the Gamecocks quickly tied things and moved in front, 25-24, on Myles Stute’s 3-pointer 12 minutes in.

That began a 16-4 surge as the Gamecocks opened a 38-26 lead. Catchings scored six of the next eight points, including a behind the back, reverse layup as Georgia cut the lead to 40-34 by halftime.

KEY STATS

• Carolina ended the game 1-for-8 from the floor over the final 7 minutes of action with a number of good looks in the stretch.
• After shooting 48.1% (13-of-27) the opening 20 minutes, the Gamecocks were 11-of-31 (35.5%) from the floor in half two.

NOTABLES

• Mike Sharavjamts scored a season-high 18 points to lead Carolina. He was an efficient 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the floor hitting a pair of 3s. He added six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Eli Ellis was in double-figures again for Carolina with 13 points to lead all bench scorers on either side. He added seven rebounds, a steal and a block.
• Kobe Knox had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. The 10 boards were a career high for the Tampa, Fla. native.
• Meechie Johnson finished with 11 points, five assists (team high), four rebounds, two blocks (career high) and a steal. It’s his seventh game (24^th career) this season with five or more assists.

UP NEXT
Carolina has a pair of road games, first facing No. 15/15 Arkansas (12-3, 2-0 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday. Mike Morgan (pxp) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will be on the call for the 9 p.m. (ET) SEC Network broadcast.

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