Williams, Slawson contribute to victory
With 13 seconds left in the game Wednesday night and Carolina holding on to a 57-56 lead after a Malik Cooke jumper, Bruce Ellington was at the free-throw line for a one-and-one opportunity. The Gamecocks were a perfect 14-14 from the line, and a free throw would have given USC a chance to make it a three-point game.
At the most crucial time, Ellington’s attempt was off the mark, giving Georgia an opportunity to win it at the buzzer. Fortunately for the Gamecocks, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 3-pointer was off the mark, allowing USC to exhale and escape Colonial Life Arena with a 57-56 win. The team finished a season-best 14-15 from the line.
“I think it was huge,” said coach Darrin Horn. “The timing of (free throws) was big, especially Anthony (Gill). Our only miss was the one by Bruce late, but getting to the line 15 times was positive for us.”
RJ Slawson made his second-straight start against Georgia. On Wednesday night against the Bulldogs, the sophomore registered six points, three rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes. At one point in the first half, Slawson had back-to-back dunks during a 7-0 run by the Gamecocks (10-15, 2-9 SEC).
Damontre Harris and Brenton Williams both played big roles in USC’s second SEC win of the season. Horn said everyone on the team, even the ones who didn’t play Wednesday night, were important parts in the win.
“A huge key to this game and to the way we played was the effort of some guys who didn’t play much tonight,” Horn said. “Brian Richardson, Carlton Geathers and Eric Smith made our practices great on Monday and Tuesday. They really brought tremendous energy and made our practices competitive and the type of practices that you have to have to get better and put yourself in position to do this today.”
Harris finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five blocks while Williams had 10 points, including eight team points in 17 minutes. Harris’ 38 minutes were especially important to Horn, as Harris has struggled with foul trouble this season and his athleticism was needed late in the game.
“Anytime it is a scramble situation late like that, I always kind of expect Damontre to come over and at least make a play on it,” Horn said.
After falling behind 46-39 after a 13-2 run by Georgia, the Gamecocks used a suffocating defense to play their way back into the game. About halfway through the second half, the Bulldogs were shooting nearly 53.8 percent from the field. By the time the final buzzer sounded, that percentage was at 39.3.
Horn said the defense was the main reason USC was able to pull off the win, and the stats backed him up, as the Gamecocks shot a meager 38.8 percent for the game.
“The difference in the game was the job that we did on the defensive end,” Horn said. “We really varied our looks tonight, and I think that really helped us. Offensively, we weren’t stellar, but we made the plays that we needed to make down the stretch.”
In the last couple of games, USC was plagued by turnovers that resulted in huge runs for the other team. A couple of times during the game Wednesday, Georgia was on the verge of one of those runs after the Gamecocks turned the ball over at crucial points in the game.
However, according to Horn, the team was able to play through the 14 turnovers by staying focused and not letting the miscues get to their heads.
“The difference tonight was that we were able to play the game four minutes at a time,” Horn said. “We didn’t get caught up in the whole of things or our run or their run; we just kept playing the next four minutes. The other thing we did was make some plays during those stretches. We got to the offensive glass, got some putbacks and got some fouls.”
Georgia head coach Mark Fox said he thought the Gamecocks were the “hungrier” team Wednesday, something that sounded eerily similar to what Alabama’s Anthony Grant said after the Gamecocks’ only other SEC win.