Photos: South Carolina almost in right place at right time

South Carolina had every chance to knock of second ranked Alabama Wednesday night in front of a raucous crowd. In the end, however, Alabama was able to make just enough shots in overtime to squeak by the deflated Gamecocks, 78-76.

GG Jackson led the Gamecocks in scoring with 19 points while Jacobi Wright and Meechie Johnson both chipped in 18 each.

Relive the emotional game by scrolling through the photos below or click HERE to view captioned photos from the game.

Brandon Miller sliced through South Carolina’s defense and laid the ball in while GG Jackson, seconds later heaved a halfcourt shot to the rim that fell short and sent the game into overtime.

South Carolina, on the cusp of beating No. 2 Alabama, would have to do it overtime. But the Tide’s wave of talent was too much and the Gamecocks’ incredibly tough push of one of the best teams in the country ultimately fell short.

With less than two seconds left, it was Miller again laying the ball in and handing South Carolina an incredibly hard-fought 78-76 loss.

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How it happened

South Carolina (10-18, 3-12 SEC) and Alabama were nip and tuck most of the game, the Gamecocks using a 16-3 run to take a lead and trading blows for most of the game.

After two huge Meechie Johnson threes followed by a go-ahead three from Zach Davis to put South Carolina up, Alabama tied things up.

Things came down to the wire with Jacobi Wright, in a tie game, drilled a pull-up jumper to give South Carolina the lead. But it was short-lived.

Brandon Miller blew past the Gamecocks’ defense with just 14.3 second left to tie the game up and GG Jackson’s half-court heave was off the mark to send things to overtime.

South Carolina got there thanks to the big shot from Wright but 19 points from Jackson, 13 coming in the first half, and 10 strong from Johnson after halftime, propelled by a halfcourt shot of his own to end the first half.

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The Gamecocks got to overtime and took a quick lead thanks to a pair of Josh Gray free throws, but the Tide would soon answer.

After Gray missed the front-end of a one-and-one, Alabama went on a 4-0 run with just two minutes to play. Wright answered with a shot of his own then Gray blocked an Alabama shot at the rim.

Wright hit another tough shot, this time over Miller but it was Miller giving Alabama the lead again with another two-pointer.

Then, in a tie game and Hayden Brown and Josh Gray both either fouled out or banged up, it was Miller, who finished with a career-high 41, again laying the ball in to give Alabama the win.

Johnson’s heave at the buzzer bounced off the rim and the backboard to give Alabama the win.

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Two observations

Too many transition opportunities–Alabama is one of the fastest teams in the country in terms of pace, a team that likes to get out in transition and run. The Gamecocks at times played right into that, committing a few turnovers that led to easy Tide buckets. Alabama finished with 21 fastbreak points and South Carolina had just five offensive rebounds. 

Perimeter defense was hit or miss–Alabama only hit 26 percent of its threes, well below its league-best 37.5 percent. That’s a positive, but the Gamecocks allowed far too many looks late at the rim. Fatigue played a part but it was tough to defend when Alabama was getting efficient looks close.

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Key stat

40 points: South Carolina couldn’t stop Alabama from getting to the rim, allowing 40 points in the paint. The Tide’s game-tying and game-winning buckets came at the rim and most of Alabama’s points came inside in overtime.

Turning point

Brandon Miller laid the ball in with fractions of a second left with Josh Gray and Hayden Brown on the bench. Brown had previously fouled out before overtime and Gray looked as if he was nursing a leg injury on the bench.

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Up next

South Carolina hits the road for a quick one-game road trip, traveling to Tennessee Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network. 

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