For a while, it looked like the total recipe.
South Carolina men’s basketball, as a 17-point homer underdog down two of its regular starters against No. 2 Auburn, was in control. Winning loose balls, dominating on the glass, getting a superstar performance from Collin Murray-Boyles.
Dictating terms against the mighty Tigers, even.
But after a see-saw first half, Auburn dodged the upset bullet and escaped Colonial Life Arena with a 66-63 win over the gritty Gamecocks.
The key sequence came in the final minute when after an exchange of stops, South Carolina's (10-6, 0-3 SEC) Nick Pringle drew a foul with 9.8 seconds left and the Gamecocks trailing 64-63. In what sounded more like an Auburn (15-1, 3-0 SEC home game, Pringle missed both free throws in the clutch spot. A scramble for the rebound ensued, but Auburn had the possession arrow and came out with the ball. Guard Tahaad Pettiford sank his two free throws at the other end to put the Tigers up three, leaving South Carolina with one final chance.
Morris Ugusuk got a decent look at the basket off a long inbounds pass, but his game-tying 3-point attempt clanked off the side of the rim and the upset bid went by the boards.
Out of the gate, it was hard to feel like the game would go any way other than to script. Auburn darted out of the gate with seven straight scoring possessions and built a nine-point advantage in just over seven minutes. But out of nowhere, facing a crowd full of traveling Auburn fans, the Gamecocks woke up.
And in particular, their best player.
After two lackluster games to start SEC play, Murray-Boyles went off. The sophomore forward sliced and diced his way through Auburn’s seemingly unstoppable defense at will, scoring 11 points in a six-minute stretch and having 18 on the board by halftime. Redshirt freshman forward Arden Conyers also stepped up with the game of his young career, scoring 13 points and knocking down a trio of 3-pointers.
South Carolina built its lead as large as nine as the Tigers stumbled into the locker room, but eventually one of the nation’s best teams responded. Bruce Pearl’s team quickly closed the gap out of halftime and turned the game into a back-and-forth slugfest the rest of the way, with the teams trading haymakers in a hard-nosed thriller.
The Gamecocks did not score in the final 5:14 of play, as Auburn's tight defense stepped up in time to hold Murray-Boyles and the rest of South Carolina's offense in check.
It was a building block for South Carolina, but they are still winless in conference play with two road games coming next week.
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