COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kenny Gaines scored 20 points, J.J. Frazier hit the go-ahead basket and Georgia rallied in the final four minutes to defeat South Carolina 74-72 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs were up 43-34 early in the second half, yet trailed 63-60 on Sindarius Thornwell’s driving bucket with 3:31 to go. That’s when Georgia (16-12, 9-8 Southeastern Conference) got going and finished the game on a 14-9 burst to win its second straight game.
Frazier drove the lane and banked home the winning bucket. After Yante Maten put back Frazier’s miss, Georgia’s leading scorer followed with a dead-on 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 69-63 lead with 1:13 to play.
South Carolina (23-7, 10-7) could not respond.
Frazier finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Maten had 13 points for Georgia.
The Gamecocks were once certain locks for the NCAA tournament, but they’ve lost four of their past six.
Mindaugas Kacinas had 21 points to lead South Carolina. Thornwell finished with 16 points. Leading scorer Michael Carrera had 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting in his final home game.
Georgia built a nine-point lead until the Gamecocks went on a 21-7 run to pull in front 55-50. Georgia’s defense and shooting kicked in once more, Gaines hitting a 3-pointer that tied things once again.
South Carolina came in with a puncher’s chance at a share of the SEC crown and started strongly as Kacinas hit two 3-pointers on the way to an 8-2 lead. But the Bulldogs gradually found holes in the Gamecocks defense and took full advantage with a 28-14 surge to pull in front 30-22.
Gaines did about everything he wanted in the first 20 minutes with 14 points, surpassing his season average of 13.5.
Carrera struggled to find his stroke in the opening half as he made just 3 of 13 shots from the field. He missed all five of his attempts from behind the arc. It didn’t get much better after the break and he ended 1 of 10 on long-range shooting.
South Carolina lost for just the second time at home this season.
TIP-INS
Georgia: The Bulldogs are No. 1 — in strength of schedule, at least. Georgia wound up with the top spot among 351 Division I programs in the most recent edition of the NCAA’s RPI.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks came into the game second in the SEC in defensive rebound percentage (70.8 percent) with 782 defensive rebounds compared with 332 offensive rebounds by opponents this season. Only Vanderbilt has a better percentage in the league this season.
UP NEXT
Georgia closes the regular season against Alabama on Saturday.
South Carolina travels to Arkansas on Saturday.