So, so close: South Carolina lets upset chance vs. No. 2 Auburn slip from its grasp
They came so close.
After a difficult start to SEC play, the South Carolina men’s basketball team nearly pulled off the unthinkable, pushing No. 2 Auburn to the brink Saturday before ultimately falling just short in a heartbreaking 66-63 loss at Colonial Life Arena.
Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC) started the game hot, making nine of its first 12 shots, racing to an early 20-11 lead. USC responded with a 24-7 run and led 40-34 at halftime. It was only the fourth time this season that Auburn trailed at the break.
“Our guys fought hard and played well and managed the game effectively for a large part of the game,” USC head coach Lamont Paris said.
The Tigers fought back with a 9-3 run to start the second half. The teams traded punches for the rest of the period until a nifty pass from Tahaad Pettiford to Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell resulted in a wide-open dunk that put the Tigers up 64-63. Auburn never relinquished the lead.
USC’s Nick Pringle had an opportunity to retake the lead with nine seconds left, but missed both free throws. Pettiford made two of his own with four seconds left for the game’s final margin. The Gamecocks didn’t score in the final 5:18, missing their last six shots.
“Really happy with what the game looked like, what the body of work ultimately looked like,” Paris said. “Just wish that you could make a play here or there on either side of it that ultimately affects the outcome of the game.”
Auburn has won nine straight games over USC. USC had lost its first two SEC games by a combined 55 points before the tightly contested game against the Tigers. USC men’s basketball’s all-time record vs. AP Top 2 teams is 2-36.
South Carolina (10-6, 0-3 SEC) starts a road trip with a visit to Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Here are three observations from the loss to Auburn:
Back to the basics, plus more
Paris and the Gamecocks have emphasized throughout the year that they need to score on the inside. After averaging just 28 points in the paint over the first two SEC games, they scored 18 of them in the first half against Auburn.
It allowed the Gamecocks to be more competitive even with Auburn’s amazing early shooting.
“We did a good job, overall, really good job of sticking to our principles and hopefully learning that, ‘Hey, these things work,’” Paris said.
What’s more, the Gamecocks showed a newfound aggression. They fought on the effort plays, which kept them in the game, even with shooting struggles. South Carolina had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half for 11 second-chance points.
“Our guys played really hard and with a good level of physicality, of aggression, of energy, of spirit and emotion,” Paris said.
Pringle notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Gamecocks scored 42 points in the paint.
Playing without starters
The Gamecocks were playing without starters Jamarii Thomas and Myles Stute, who are both out for extended periods with injuries. Thomas, who is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg), will miss a few weeks after an ankle injury at practice. Sophomore Morris Ugusuk started in his place.
Redshirt freshman Arden Conyers was already playing extended minutes with Stute’s absence, but he received another bump with Thomas out. He came in at the 14:56 mark and played 15 minutes in the first half. He scored seven points in the period and had a team-high plus-minus of 10.
Conyers continued his career game in the second half, knocking down two 3-pointers in the second half and finishing with 13 points. He also closed the game for the Gamecocks and played 31 minutes.
Senior Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk also stepped up and delivered some quality minutes for the Gamecocks. He had five rebounds, three assists and a block in his season-high 10 minutes.
“You never know when it’s your name (being called),” Paris said. “So, we’ve tried to live by that, and today we did. We called Arden Conyers’ name, and he stood up today for 30 minutes. … Some really good performances that way. I think it’s really good for our group that you have some guys respond properly to it.”
CMB is back
Collin Murray-Boyles struggled in the first two SEC games, scoring a combined 11 points. He rediscovered his rhythm against Auburn, scoring 18 points in the first half. That was his most productive performance in a half of the season.
Coming into the game, Paris said they emphasized different aspects of the game that Murray-Boyles specializes in, with hopes of getting him out of the slump.
“Obviously, you could see that in his game today,” Paris said.
He finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
Next four games
- Wednesday: at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 18: at Oklahoma, 4 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPNU)
- Jan. 22: vs Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Jan. 25: vs Mississippi State, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
This story was originally published January 11, 2025 at 3:10 PM.
