Lamont Paris shares postgame message after Alabama loss

For what it’s worth, South Carolina had No. 2 Alabama on the ropes last night. Their effort ended in defeat but, considering all things, it was the kind of performance that Lamont Paris said he could be proud of his team for.

Paris shared the message that he gave his Gamecocks following their 78-76 overtime loss to the Crimson Tide. He said they deserved to win that game considering all they did right but, now, they have to put it behind them to improve and be ready to compete like that again next time out.

“(They) deserve to win, (they) deserve better. (They) did enough good things to win the basketball game. I do know that,” said Paris. “We made some mistakes also. They needed a basket on two occasions and got layups out of it. Their quality of shot in the waning moments was probably higher than it should have been. But, honestly, just that (they) deserve better. And then let’s get back to it tomorrow. That was the message.”

“I was proud,” Paris said. “I’m really proud of what they did, how they communicated with each other…It’s a significant improvement from where it was in December or January.”

After winning two of their last three games, South Carolina had the chance to get a statement victory for Paris’ first season in Columbia. They led by as much as seven in the second half in a game where they surprisingly outshot Alabama. Still, the Tide made enough plays, specifically in the clutch, to escape with the two-point win.

Even so, this was one of South Carolina’s best efforts of the season, if not their best. With three games to go, this is something Paris’ squad can build on, especially considering they have another ranked matchup coming up next against No. 11 Tennessee this weekend.