Bulldogs take third straight in series
When USC met Georgia earlier this season in Columbia, the Gamecocks fell victim to a slow start, but put together a furious rally in the second half to nearly pull off a comeback victory.
However, this was not the case in Saturday's 64-48 loss in Athens.
South Carolina fell behind by 16 points early in the first half and was never able to recover as the Bulldogs ran away with the game.
USC trailed Georgia 39-22 at halftime, but, unlike the last time, they were unable to come back in the second half. Trey Thompkins scored 20 points and Travis Leslie added 15 for the Bulldogs, who shot 46 percent from the field. Jeremy Price also tallied 14 points for the Bulldogs.
Georgia, which has beaten Carolina in each of the last three meetings, had a bevy of dunks including a thunderous jam by Leslie near the end of the first half.
While the Gamecock defense was bad, the story of the game for Carolina was its lack of offense. USC shot just 28.3 percent from the field, including a dreadful 1-of-19 from three-point range.
One of the few bright spots for the Gamecocks was forward Malik Cooke, who has continued to play well since re-entering the starting lineup. Cooke led USC in scoring with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Cooke is averaging 14.6 points over the last five games for Carolina (14-13, 5-9).
Sam Muldrow and Ramon Galloway each added 10 points for South Carolina. Saturday also saw the return of Lakeem Jackson, who played in his first game since the Feb. 12 contest against Georgia (19-9, 8-6). Jackson only scored two points in thirteen minutes of play.
The Bulldogs now lead the overall series 49-47 and coach Darrin Horn is now 3-3 all time against the Bulldogs, including a 1-2 record in Athens.