South Carolina’s men’s basketball team overcame its two-game skid Tuesday night, beating Alabama 68-66 to notch its first conference win of the season.
The Gamecocks (10-5, 1-2 SEC) crawled out to a sluggish start, allowing the Crimson Tide to open the game on a 9-0 run. Alabama hit three of its first five field goals to push the score to a seven-point advantage after four minutes. Senior guard Rodney Cooper converted on two free throw attempts, stretching the Alabama advantage to nine, which would prove to be the team’s largest lead of the game.
The Gamecocks took advantage of a media timeout to recuperate, putting together a nine-point run of their own after Cooper’s free throws to take control of the game.
South Carolina headed into halftime on a hot hand, missing only one of its final six field goals of the first half.
Head coach Frank Martin’s squad spent the better part of the second half separating itself from the Crimson Tide and never relinquished the lead in the final 20 minutes of play.
That is, until the final minutes.
Alabama inbounded the ball with 11 seconds left, trailing by two points but missed a potential game winning three-pointer in the waning seconds.
After averaging just over 58 points in their first two conference games the Gamecocks managed 68 points in the win, including 34 points in the paint.
Senior guard Tyrone Johnson led a balanced South Carolina attack, shooting 5-for-12 from the field for 13 points. Sophomore Michael Carrera and junior forward Mindaugas Kacinas also reached the double-digit plateau, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively. Carrera and Kacinas also contributed with eight rebounds apiece.