South Carolina edges Georgetown in instant overtime thriller
Minutes earlier, it was Meechie Johnson missing the front end of a South Carolina 1-and-1 to set up a frenzied end to the second half that ultimately resulted in overtime.
Fast forward five minutes and it’s Johnson, unbothered by the miss, sprinting into the arms of his head coach for a hug after hitting the go-ahead shot to clinch a 74-71 win over Georgetown in overtime.
For the Gamecocks, they erased an 11-point halftime lead, tightened up defensively, and rode their three-headed monster to the finish line in what they hope is a proof-of-concept win early in Lamont Paris’s tenure.
•Subscribe to Gamecock Central until the 2023 football season for only $10!
How it happened
Things looked like it wouldn’t go South Carolina’s way early with the Gamecocks down 11 points at the break, but things changed in the second half. South Carolina (4-4) outscored the Hoyas by 11 in the second half, although not without a frenzied finish.
The Gamecocks, up three with just over two minutes to go, saw that evaporate after missing the front end of a 1-and-1 late and Georgetown hitting a go-ahead bucket with four seconds left. South Carolina inbounded the ball quickly and Hayden Brown was held on the outlet pass, resulting in a Georgetown flagrant foul.
Hayden Brown split the two free throws to tie the game, and GG Jackson–who was electric in the second half–missed the game-winning shot to send things to overtime.
The Gamecocks would get caught in another back-and-forth overtime with no team leading by more than three in the extra period.
Chico Carter gave South Carolina a two-point lead with just over a minute to play, Georgetown would hit a pair at the line to tie things up after that, fouling out Brown in the process. He finished with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
But, after a Gamecock timeout, South Carolina had its biggest offensive possession of the game. Chico Carter missed a three but Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk offensive rebound kept things alive for Johnson, who drilled the game-winning shot.
Georgetown had two more chances to tie things but both shots fell short.
Johnson didn’t shoot at a high percentage but came up big time after time. He finished with a season-high 17 points (4-for-10 from three) and a career-best eight assists.
If he faltered at times, it was guys like Jackson to pick him up. The Gamecocks’ freshman phenom scored all 22 of his points after halftime, finishing the game 9-for-19 and 2-for-5 from three.
• Win a football autographed by Rattler, Bell, Wells, Gwyn, Kroeger
South Carolina would really tighten up defensively, holding Georgetown to 34 points the final 25 minutes of the game. The Hoyas shot just 2-for-8 in overtime and didn’t have a field goal the final 2:32 of the game.
Two observations
This is the impact South Carolina’s go-to guys can make–Going into the preseason the thought from South Carolina was the offense had to flow through three guys: Brown, Johnson and Jackson. You saw why Saturday. Those three combined for 55 points on 20-for-42 shooting, 9-for-20 from three, 23 boards, 11 assists and seven turnovers. The Gamecocks have to keep that going.
• 31-30! Make a one-time contribution of $31.30 to Garnet Trust
South Carolina may have to go small more–South Carolina’s second-half performance was spurred by the Gamecocks putting a mostly guard and wing-heavy lineup out there. South Carolina’s two primary centers played a combined five minutes in the second half and overtime. The Gamecocks rode GG Jackson and Hayden Brown as frontcourt players today and it worked. That might have to be the formula moving forward.
Key stat
10 three-pointers: The Gamecocks were able to stay somewhat in the game thanks to a 5-for-15 first half from three. South Carolina ultimately ended up shooting 10-for-31 from three. The defense held Georgetown to just 3-for-18, including two misses at the end. Outside shooting won that game offensively for the Gamecocks.
• Get South Carolina basketball alerts and analysis via email
Turning point
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk struggled most of the game but came up big when needed. After a missed three-pointer, he was there to feed Johnson and set up the eventual game-winning shot.
Up next
The Gamecocks have over a week off with finals going on with their next game not until Sunday. South Carolina hosts Presbyterian on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. with the game televised on ESPN Plus.
