South Carolina basketball loses to Tennessee as SEC title hopes slip away
COLUMBIA – Suddenly South Carolina is playing for second.
At best.
The Gamecocks came up short in their showdown against No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday night, suffering a 66-59 defeat that clinched the SEC regular-season title for the Volunteers.
Dalton Knecht scored 26 points as Tennessee (24-7, 14-4 SEC) avenged a 63-59 loss to the Gamecocks on Jan. 30 that marked the Vols’ lone defeat on their home court this season as well as their lowest point total of the season.
South Carolina (25-6, 13-5), ranked No. 18 in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll, suffered just its third loss in 18 games this season at Colonial Life Arena.
The Gamecocks, which conclude the regular season at Mississippi State on Saturday, could finish anywhere from second to fifth in the SEC based on the remaining games for Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky.
That’s not bad for a team that was predicted to finish last in the 14-team league in preseason voting, but not what the Gamecocks were envisioning heading into Wednesday night.
A victory against Tennessee followed by a win at Mississippi State would have given South Carolina its first and only SEC regular-season title since 1996-97, when the team went 15-1 in league play.
The Gamecocks doomed themselves early Wednesday, making just four of their first 17 shots. They battled back to tie the game a 19 with 7:34 left in the half, but Tennessee closed by outscoring the Gamecocks 16-5 – including three consecutive 3-pointers by Knecht – to pull ahead by 11 points, 35-24, at the half.
South Carolina pulled within six points, 40-34, with 12:50 remaining, then rallied from a 14-point deficit to pull within three, 59-56, with 50 seconds left. But the Vols made 6-of-7 free throws to seal it.
Meechie Johnson paced the Gamecocks with 18 points.
South Carolina honors trio of seniors
South Carolina’s Senior Night honorees were B.J Mack, Ta’Lon Cooper and Stephen Clark. All three are graduate newcomers to the program, but each has strong South Carolina ties.
Mack is from Charlotte, but played his first three seasons at Wofford. Cooper played three seasons at Morehead State and a fourth at Minnesota, but is a native of Roebuck and a product of Dorman High School. Like Mack, Clark is from Charlotte, but played four seasons at The Citadel in Charleston before landing at South Carolina.
“It is amazing how close you can get to some of these guys when you have been around them for one year,” Paris said. “Actually, less than probably a calendar year. It is always fairly emotional.”
Once again, South Carolina has no answers for Knecht
Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht scored a game-high 31 points in the Volunteers’ home loss to South Carolina on Jan. 30 and the Gamecocks had a tough time slowing him down once again Wednesday night.
Knecht hit three consecutive 3-point shots in a span of 2:09 late in the first half, giving him 14 points and the Vols an 11-point lead. The transfer from Northern Colorado then opened the second half with another basket, pushing the lead to 13, and finished with a game-high 26 points. He made 5-of-11 shots from beyond the arc.
Knecht, who leads the SEC with a 20.6 scoring average, is shooting 40.2% from 3-point range, averaged 24.7 points in SEC play and is the lone player in the country to post four 35-point games this season.
Vols' Rick Barnes impressed by Lamont Paris
After an 11-21 finish, including a 4-14 SEC mark, in coach Lamont Paris’ first season a year ago, the Gamecocks have made a 13-game improvement – the best in program history.
And Paris has the unabashed support of Tennessee coach Rick Barnes not only for SEC Coach of the Year, but National Coach of the Year as well.
“Lamont has done just an incredible job,” Barnes said. “One of the great coaching jobs not just this year, but as long as I have been in basketball.”
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SEC title hopes slip away from Gamecocks with loss to Tennessee
