COLONIAL LIFE ARENA: After suffering a 35-point loss at Mississippi State Saturday, South Carolina was hoping to bounce back with a better performance Wednesday night against 5th ranked Alabama. The Gamecocks jumped out to a 5-0, but then the tide turned in favor of the Crimson Tide who went on to an 88-68 win, their tenth straight in the series.
After that early deficit, Alabama went on a 30-11 run and led 30-16 with 7:05 left in the half. The Crimson Tide led 45-28 at halftime, and the Gamecocks were not able to make a significant dent into the deficit in the second half. They got as close as 14 points a few times, the last time coming after a Jacobi Wright basket with 5:30 to play made it 71-57, but Alabama scored the next six points and cruised home from there.
Alabama finished with a 55% shooting night with star guard Mark Sears leading the way with 22 points and six assists. He was 4-6 on three pointers. The Crimson Tide had 21 assists on 35 baskets compared to the Gamecocks eight assists on 23.
Jacobi Wright led the Gamecocks, who shot 43% for the game, with a career high of 20 points. Jamarii Thomas added 15 points. Leading scorer Collin Murray-Boyles was held to six points on 1-6 shooting. He did grab eight rebounds.
Alabama crushed the Gamecocks in the paint 48-32, and also outscored them on the break 16-6. And the Crimson Tide’s deep roster produced 39 points off the bench to four for USC which was playing without starting guard Myles Stute.
The Gamecocks are 10-5 and 0-2 in the SEC and will host second ranked Auburn Saturday afternoon.
Lamont Paris postgame
Final Stats
