South Carolina finished 0-2 in the Greenbrier Tip-Off after falling to Northwestern 79-77 Sunday night on a basket in the final second. This followed the Gamecocks’ loss to Butler on Friday afternoon, 79-72.
The game was a tight one most of the way until the Wildcats went on a 12-2 run for a 74-62 lead with 4:53 to play. The Gamecocks rallied over the next three minutes with a 13-1 run to tie the game at 75-75. Meechie Johnson sparked the surge with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Elijah Strong tied the game with two free throws.
But after Johnson’s three with 2;39 remaining, the Gamecocks did not make another basket the rest of the game.
USC had a chance to take the lead after Johnson had a layup blocked, and Kobe Knox gathered in the rebound. But Knox turned the ball over, and that led to a two-point jumper by Nick Martinelli with .0:49 on the clock.
Strong then missed a layup, but Mike Sharavjamts grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the put-back. He made both to forge a 77-77 tie with 0:28 left.
After Chris Collins called a timeout for Northwestern, Martinelli drove to the baseline, spun, and hit Arrinten Page in the lane. Page drove to his left and made a defended left-handed layup with eight-tenths of a second left. The ball was inbounded to Johnson, and his full-court heave was knocked down by the low ceiling.
The Wildcats shot 64% in the second half and 57% for the game. The Gamecocks made 10 three-point shots out of 34 attempts, and shot 46% overall. USC was much better on the boards than in the Butler game. They outrebounded Northwestern 31-26, including 13 offensive rebounds they turned into 17 points.
Strong led the Gamecocks with 16 points off the bench. He also had five rebounds and four assists. Johnson added 15 points and 5 assits.
The Gamecocks are now 4-2 and will be off until Friday afternoon when they host Charleston Southern.
Final Stats
