South Carolina’s men’s basketball team fell to the Auburn Tigers 71-67 on Saturday night at Neville Arena, marking the Gamecocks’ third consecutive loss for a conference record of 1-4.
South Carolina got the ball first following tipoff, allowing junior forward Elijah Strong to score the Gamecocks' first points of the game off a jumper. Auburn quickly responded with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford. Strong was able to put up another 2 points, helping South Carolina take an early 4-3 lead.
Auburn was able to find some rhythm on both sides of the ball, scoring two layups after a block and a Gamecock turnover, making the score 8-4 in their favor.
Freshman guard Grant Polk ended a four minute scoring drought with a layup after several missed field goals from the Gamecocks.
An alley-oop dunk made by Auburn's freshman forward Filip Jović and offensive fouls on graduate guard Myles Stute and redshirt junior forward Christ Essandoko helped Auburn increase their lead to 17-10.
Redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox was fouled twice within a few minutes, as he made three of his four free throws to put the Gamecocks within 4 points of Auburn’s lead, 17-13.
Strong was fouled shortly after, making one of his free throws. Johnson hit a jumper to cut the score to 19-16. Auburn responded with a jumper of their own, but Johnson answered right back with the Gamecocks' first made 3-pointer of the game, making the score 21-19. The Gamecocks had previously attempted eight 3-pointers.
Auburn then went on a 6-1 run following free throws made from a shooting foul called on Stute and two fouls called on freshman forward EJ Walker. A turnover from Johnson and two more turnovers from Essandoko helped increase the Tiger lead, with the score now 28-20 .
While Walker made a 3-pointer and senior guard Mike Sharavjamts drew an Auburn shooting foul, the first half ended with Auburn in the lead, 30-24. This marks the Gamecocks' lowest scoring first half on the season.
To start off the second half, a foul was quickly called on Stute, sending Jović to the line, where he made both free throws and continued to lead the team in points with 15. Following a 3-pointer from Stute, a foul was called on Strong, allowing Auburn to increase its lead 34-27.
A layup from Sharavjamts and another 3-pointer from Johnson cut Auburn’s lead to 34-32. However, Auburn responded with two layups. Sharavjamts earned another 2 points off a layup for the Gamecocks, but Auburn remained in the lead.
Sharavjamts was able to score a layup for the Gamecocks, but Auburn extended their lead 47-38 after two layups, one as a result of a Stute turnover.
Two free throws made by Johnson and 3-pointers from Knox and Walker made up an 8-2 scoring run by the Gamecocks, cutting the lead back to 3. A missed Auburn layup and a turnover from a foul by Auburn helped the Gamecocks gain some offensive rhythm and remain within 3, 51-48.
Both teams then exchanged fouls and layups, with Auburn pushing the lead out to 54-48.
Three straight dunks by Auburn led to their largest lead of the game, 60-49. Despite this, South Carolina was able to make two back-to-back second-chance baskets from Strong and Knox after three missed field goals from Auburn.
A shooting foul called on Strong added 2 more points for Auburn. Fouls on Sharavjamts and Johnson resulted in a one and one, but Auburn missed during both instances. Sharavjamts made two free free throws after being fouled and with two minutes to go, making the score 62-55 with Auburn in the lead.
A layup from Knox cut Auburn’s lead to 5 following missed layups from both teams. Auburn made a 3-pointer, but Stute delivered a much-needed 3-pointer for the Gamecocks.
A quick steal from Johnson, which resulted in an Auburn turnover, allowed for an easy layup for Knox, making it a one-score game, 65-62.
However, a foul on Walker resulted in two made free throws for Auburn, bringing it back to a two-score game, 67-62. Another layup, this time from Sharavjamts, brought the score to 67-64.
With 13 seconds left on the clock, Walker was forced to foul Auburn’s senior forward Keyshawn Hall, who made both free throws. Johnson was then able to quickly score off a 3-point jumper, with the score now 69-67.
Knox was then called for a foul, where junior guard Kevin Overton made both free throws. Despite last-second efforts from the Gamecocks to score, they were unsuccessful, leading to Auburn winning 71-67.
What's next?
The Gamecocks will return to Colonial Life Arena on Jan. 20 to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed on the SEC Network.