South Carolina men’s basketball fell to the Virginia Tech Hokies 86-83 in overtime on Tuesday night at Colonial Life Arena. The loss is the Gamecocks' third in their past four games and their first at home this season.
Redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox started the game by blocking the Hokies' first field goal attempt and earning free throws at the other end, making one of two. It was Virginia Tech that jumped out to a lead early, however, as the Gamecocks missed their first four field goal attempts.
The Hokies went scoreless on their first three possessions before a layup from graduate guard Jailen Bedford gave the team its first lead of the game. They’d jump to an 8-1 lead five minutes into the game thanks to the Gamecocks' two turnovers and zero made field goals.
At the 13:09 mark in the first half, the Hokies had knocked down six straight field goal attempts. Come nearly midway through the first half (11:32), the Hokies led 19-10 mostly thanks to domination in the paint, out-rebounding the Gamecocks 10-3.
Virginia Tech junior forward Amani Hansberry was the team’s biggest contributor early, knocking down four of his first five shots for 8 points. He slammed home a dunk off a Gamecocks turnover that put the Hokies up 21-13.
The Hokies' leading scorer entering the game, freshman guard Neoklis Avdalas, had just 2 points after he checked out for the first time at the game’s nine minute mark. He’d finish the half with 5 total points while notching three assists in the period.
Come the seven-minute mark, both teams had made three consecutive shots and the Hokies led the game 25-20. The Gamecocks still had only three rebounds on the night .
A deep triple from redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson cut the game to just a 2-point affair, 25-23, and stretched South Carolina’s current run to 7-0 across 1:55 of game time. Virginia Tech had not scored or attempted a field goal in 2:15.
Freshman guard Eli Ellis was fouled on a game-tying 3-point attempt on the next possession and knocked down two-of-three to bring the Gamecocks within one. The Hokies would score the final points of the half on a layup that pushed the score to 37-34 at the break.
The Gamecocks had shot 50% from the field at the game’s midway point, but had been outrebounded 21-9 by the Hokies, notably 5-0 offensively. Virginia Tech had capitalized, scoring 12 second-chance points in the period compared to South Carolina’s zero.
Hansberry led Virginia Tech in points at half with 13 while also adding a team-high eight boards, while junior forward Elijah Strong led the Gamecocks with 10 points.
Picking up right where he left off, Hansberry scored the first bucket of the second half. A deep three from Bedford put the Hokies up 42-34 almost immediately.
South Carolina started 0-6 from the field in the second period before Knox earned the team’s first bucket four minutes in. Shortly after, redshirt junior forward Christ Essandoko checked into the game for the first time and immediately knocked down a triple, cutting the deficit to just three at 46-43.
Come the 5:30 mark, the Hokies had made their last three field goal attempts, while South Carolina had made its last four. Senior guard Mike Sharavjamts knocked down two free throws to tie the game for the first time all night with 4:35 to go.
On the very next offensive possession, Sharavjamts scored on an and-one put-back to give the Gamecocks their first lead since the game’s first minute. The team was six of its last seven and on a 6-0 run across the last 1:16 with 3:44 to go. Virginia Tech hadn’t scored in over two minutes.
Tied at 70 with 1:28 to go, Johnson missed two free throws that would’ve taken the lead. The team was previously 15-15 in the second half after going 4-9 in the first.
With 30 seconds to play, neither team had scored in over two minutes. Avdalas missed a 3-pointer, giving the Gamecocks an opportunity to score the game’s final basket, but the game clock ran out before the team could get a shot off, bringing on overtime.
Avdalas was quickly given a pair of free throws to start the final period, but Ellis answered with a 3-point play that took a 73-72 lead. Avdalas knocked down a two on the next possession, this time answered by an Essandoko triple that put South Carolina up 76-74.
Sophomore guard Ben Hammond hit a floater to swing the game back in Virginia Tech’s favor, then an and-one layup by Knox returned the lead to the Gamecocks. Avdalas picked up his fifth foul of the game on the play, knocking him out for the remainder of the game.
Strong scored South Carolina’s final 4 points, with each of the two late buckets tying the game. With 13.0 left down by two, South Carolina’s schemed up 3-point attempt for Johnson bounced off the back iron.
The Hokies knocked down one of two free throws with 2.2 to play after the Gamecocks fouled following the miss, and a near-halfcourt heave from Strong fell short to end the game.
“When I watch the tape, I just feel like the number of proverbial self-inflicted wounds is going to be a wild number,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “That ultimately is on me.”
What's next?
The South Carolina men's basketball team will face off against Stetson on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena.