The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ben Fine, The Daily Gamecock Zam Fredrick shows his dismay at the defeat.

Dave Odom and his team are going to have nightmares involving full-court defense, clutch shooting and six seconds on the clock.

In almost the exact same fashion as the Vanderbilt game three Saturdays ago, the men's basketball team had a closing-seconds meltdown leading to an eventual loss. This time, the Gamecocks were beaten after Mississippi State's Ben Hansbrough hit three free throws following an Evka Baniulis foul, sending the game into overtime. Carolina was outscored 11-6 in the extra period, dropping a 61-56 game.

"It seems like the tale of the season-not finishing in the end, not finishing at the end of the game," said guard Devan Downey. "You give up three with six seconds left. You really can't put too much more on it. I really don't know what to say on it. "

The Gamecocks (12-14, 4-8 SEC) found themselves in a familiar position, as the battle with the SEC Western Division leader was a back-and-forth affair.

The game featured 10 lead changes as well as six ties, and neither squad had a higher advantage than six points.

Mississippi State (18-8, 9-3 SEC) took the lead on a Charles Rhodes dunk on the first possession of the game and held the lead for much of the first half. A Mike Holmes dunk off a Downey steal gave USC its first lead of the game at 19-18 with 2:31 remaining. Carolina finished the first half with two Downey free throws to give the Gamecocks a 21-20 lead at the break.

"It just looked to me like they did everything they could possibly do except make shots," Odom said.

The second half started in much the same fashion as the first, as Jarvis Varnado dunked the ball nine seconds into the second half for a 22-21 lead. Holmes once again played the hero role as he hit a jumper at the 10:57 mark to break a deadlock and give Carolina a 34-32 lead. Holmes, who has grabbed at least eight rebounds in each of the last three games, finished with 13 boards and 12 points for his second straight game with a double-double.

USC held the lead for over five minutes, but a Jamont Gordon 3-point shot gave the Bulldogs the lead back, at 44-43.

Once again, Holmes stepped up tipping in his own miss after a rebound to break a two-minute scoring drought for both teams and giving Carolina a 45-44 lead with 2:35 left.

Continued...

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