South Carolina battles back but falls in overtime to Virginia Tech in ACC/SEC Challenge

South Carolina couldn’t have drawn the situation up any better. Final seconds, tie game, ball in its best player’s hands with a chance to win at the buzzer. After battling back, this was the moment to finish it.

Meechie Johnson dribbled the ball back and forth, waiting for the right opportunity to take the shot. He drove to his right, turned around, had some space to shoot. This was the moment to become a hero.

3…2…1!

But the score never changed. No, the final shot didn’t go in, because Johnson never took it. He kicked out to an open Mike Sharavjamts. By the time the ball reached his hands, the buzzer sounded, and a chance to beat Virginia Tech had been wasted.

“I was looking to shoot it from deep, honestly,” Johnson said. “But as soon as (Virginia Tech) started kind of pressing up on me, I tried to make a play and just lost track of time.”

Instead, the game went to overtime, where the Gamecocks had another opportunity to win it in the final seconds. However, Johnson missed a critical three-point shot that sealed the deal in an 86-83 loss to the Hokies in the ACC/SEC Challenge at Colonial Life Arena.

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It’s easy to pinpoint these two moments as the reason why South Carolina (5-3) dropped another close game against a high-major opponent. There were other reasons why it lost, though. Take, for instance, the fact that it went the final 3:43 of regulation without a made basket. That’s been a common issue in these first three losses, not being able to finish down the stretch.

“I just don’t think they should have been in the situation they were if we can get better at making some decisions that lead up to that,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “Forget the play. I think it’s these decisions. We have to learn how to win a basketball game and what that means. We have to learn that still.”

That’s not all, though. How about trailing for nearly 35 minutes before a late rally to tie and eventually take the lead? Or getting outrebounded by nine and giving up 54 points in the paint? Not to mention shooting 26.7 percent from beyond the arc and missing seven free throws.

The missed opportunities in the final seconds of regulation and overtime will be what everyone remembers. The other factors that transpired throughout the night, which led to those key moments at the end, are also just as important to why the Gamecocks were dealt another tough blow.

“We’ve just got to lick our wounds and get better,” Elijah Strong said. “We’re going to be in a lot of close games this year. This isn’t nothing that we did not expect. We would obviously like to learn from a win, but now we’ve got to learn from a loss. But it’s all good. We’ll get a chance to do it tomorrow.”

There’s still a lot of season to go, and plenty of opportunities to get signature wins before SEC play starts in January. But South Carolina is now 0-3 against teams inside the top 100 NET rankings. It has won the games it’s supposed to against the mid-majors on the schedule, but it is still looking for answers against quality foes.

Tuesday was a chance for South Carolina to pick up a resume-boosting win over a high-major opponent. It should likely result in a Quad 3 loss since the Hokies are ranked No. 82 overall in the NET.

“We have to find ways to push the buttons, to get guys to prove that. Some decision-making type things,” Paris said. “I think that really hurt us in the game, and (Virginia Tech) was playing physical. … Got off to a slow start in the first half. We found our way back to a good spot, and then we just didn’t make plays down the stretch to win.”

Up next: South Carolina will be at home on Saturday afternoon to take on Stetson. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. on SEC Network+.

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