The Gamecocks’ chance for a double-bye in the SEC tournament is in jeopardy after suffering a 74-72 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.
Emotions ran high at Colonial Life Arena on Thursday, as the four seniors — Michael Carrera, Laimonas Chatkevicius, Mindaugus Kacinas and Brian Steele — took the floor for the final time.
"The fans are awesome, my teammates and Frank, definitely Frank. Everybody that always came to support us since my freshman year. That's the most important thing. I wish I had one more game," Carrera said, when asked about what he'll miss about playing in Colonial Life Arena.
The four were honored prior to tipoff, but once the ball hit the hardwood the Gamecocks were all business.
The game started off chippy, with the Gamecocks fighting for seeding purposes in the SEC Tournament, and Georgia looking to sweep the season series against a long-time rival. The Bulldogs defeated the Gamecocks in Athens last month 69-56 in one of South Carolina’s worst offensive performances of the season.
South Carolina’s offensive woes carried over from a brutal loss last Saturday to Mississippi State, as the team shot 32.4 percent from the field in the first half compared to Georgia’s 43.3 percent shooting. Carrera and Thornwell combined for 5-20 shooting and 1-9 from three-point range.
Despite its poor shooting, South Carolina entered halftime trailing by just five points, behind three three-pointers from Kacinas and 12 offensive rebounds as a team.
Georgia guard Kenny Gaines led all scorers in the first half with 14 points.
The two teams were back and forth in the second half, but South Carolina only managed to hold a lead for 3:17. A three-steal-layup sequencefrom Carrera briefly shifted the game’s momentum in South Carolina’s favor; however, Georgia’s outside shooting and size inside ultimately sunk the Gamecocks.
Georgia’s backcourt of Gaines and J.J. Frazier combined for over half of the team’s points and six of its seven three-pointers.
"Gaines and Frazier are just hard shot makers. They just made some hard shots coming down the stretch there," Martin said.
With 3:17 remaining and South Carolina leading 63-60, Georgia scored 11 straight points and Frazier eight straight to close out the game, including a pivotal pull-up three that put the lead out of reach.
Carrera was visibly frustrated with the lack of foul calls throughout the game, as he received just two free throw attempts.
"It's frustrating when you're driving and you get hacked and you come down and they get a bump foul. That's the frustrating part," Thornwell said.
As a team, the Gamecocks shot 16 free throws, 11 fewer than Georgia.
Both Chris Silva and PJ Dozier played less than 10 minutes Thursday night.
The loss drops South Carolina to fifth in the SEC standings with the potential to drop to seventh, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s game at Arkansas.