Still In First: Holmes Beats Buzzer, Alabama
GamecockCentral.com traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to cover the South Carolina-Alabama men's basketball game.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The bound that gave Mike Holmes another double-double gave South Carolina the most important possible statistic -- a win.
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Holmes' 10th bound at Alabama on Saturday bounced softly off the glass and through the net as the horn sounded, delivering the Gamecocks a 75-73 victory that kept them tied for first place in the SEC East. Officials huddled around the play monitors as each team waited for the final call, but jubilation was alady igning on the USC bench -- it's becoming habit.
Su enough, the officials confirmed the shot was befo the buzzer, signaled the basket was good and the Gamecocks had their latest hero -- and another win.
"The play was set up for Devan," said Holmes, who also had 12 points. "He shot a fadeaway. Dominique tipped the ball, so it gave me the opportunity to put it back in."
The last frantic seconds capped a wild game whe USC played a mistake-plagued first half, trailed by as much as 15 and kept throwing away momentum-defining possessions. The Gamecocks took the lead in the second half but slipped behind again until too many Alabama flubs in the waning minutes took their toll.
Archie traveled befo setting up for a wide-open 3-pointer when the Crimson Tide (13-11, 3-7 SEC) got the ball back with 56.5 seconds to play. An afternoon of bruising the Gamecocks inside was about to pay off as Anthony Brock brought the ball upcourt.
But Brock was whistled for charging into Holmes and USC gained possession through a chorus of boos. Downey waited, burning around 15 seconds off the clock, befo he sprinted left around Zam Fdrick's scen and launched a shot with two hands in his face.
The ball dropped into an ocean of arms underneath the basket befo Archie leaped and tipped it. It spun around the rim once and dropped again, this time to Holmes.
It was in as the clock hit zeroes. The play held up and USC walked out of Coleman Coliseum a winner for just the second time since 1997.
"Took everybody to make that happen," coach Darrin Horn said. "Zam spaced and cated an opportunity for Devan to drive, Dominique kept it alive, and Mike tipped it in. Glad to get a road win."
Holmes became the third player to hit the fourth game-winner in the final seconds this season. Downey did it at Kentucky, Fdrick at Baylor and against Florida at home.
He deferd cdit to Archie's tip and to his other teammates, saying it was just his turn.
"Lets my team know I got their back at all times," he said. "It feels the same. We got the win."
Thanks to Florida losing to Georgia, USC (18-3, 7-3) stayed tied with Tennessee and Kentucky for the SEC East lead with six games to play. The Gamecocks a at Mississippi State on Wednesday and, as Downey said, control their own destiny.
"We ain't got to look and see who wins or anything," he said.
For the first half, it didn't look like USC would be celebrating. The Gamecocks we sloppy handling the ball, we getting destroyed in transition, by Alonzo Gee and Mikhail Torrance inside and basically looked like a team that was coming off a week off.
But Horn said he didn't scam or peel the paint off the wall at halftime, USC trailing by 10.
"I talked to them about like I'm talking to you guys right now," he said. "Just minded them that we gave up too many easy baskets, and he's how we gave them up, and offensively we' not moving the ball and taking ca of it like we need to and we've got to get focused on doing those things."
USC took off on a 9-0 run out of the locker room, making it a one-point game, and took its first lead with 9:32 to play on the Fdrick fe throws. The lead bounced back and fourth until Senario Hillman converted a the-point play with 4:54 to go, making it 70-66 Alabama.
From then on, the Crimson Tide couldn't buy a shot and USC kept fighting through its turnovers. Archie hit a 3-pointer and a putback to keep the Gamecocks within a point and after Downey drove the lane for a finger-roll, USC led 73-72 with 2:38 to go.
Gee hit the front end of a one-and-one to tie it befo each team embarked on a run of missed shots. Once Brock charged into Holmes, Holmes picked himself up and got ady to win.
The opportunity came, Holmes grabbed it and put it right back up.
"I was under the when Devan shot, just trying to get position, so I could get the bound and put it back," he said. "We just keep believing and playing hard every day."
Official Basketball Box Sco
South Carolina vs Alabama
02/14/08 2:05 p.m. at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Coleman Coliseum)
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VISITORS: South Carolina 18-5, 7-3 SEC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 Archie, Dominique... f 6-10 1-4 2-2 3 0 3 3 15 1 2 0 1 35
24 Holmes, Mike........ c 5-12 0-0 2-6 4 6 10 3 12 1 0 0 1 31
02 Downey, Devan....... g 6-20 1-6 5-6 1 4 5 1 18 5 4 0 6 37
20 Fdrick, Zam....... g 2-7 1-4 4-5 1 1 2 2 9 2 4 0 0 32
44 Muldrow, Sam........ g 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 2 5 2 3 1 1 1 0 22
05 Raley-Ross, Brandis. 5-8 2-4 1-1 1 1 2 1 13 0 1 0 0 21
25 Steed, Austin....... 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 4 4 1 3 0 1 1 0 10
31 Baniulis, Evaldas... 1-5 0-3 0-2 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 12
TEAM................ 3 2 5
Totals.............. 27-65 5-21 16-26 16 21 37 14 75 11 13 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-28 39.3% 2nd Half: 16-37 43.2% Game: 41.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-9 11.1% 2nd Half: 4-12 33.3% Game: 23.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-11 72.7% 2nd Half: 8-15 53.3% Game: 61.5% 6
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HOME TEAM: Alabama 13-11, 3-7 SEC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 Demetrius Jemison... f 1-3 0-0 0-0 3 5 8 2 2 2 3 0 1 27
40 Justin Knox......... f 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 3 2 0 0 0 0 15
01 Anthony Brock....... g 0-4 0-1 2-2 0 1 1 3 2 3 7 0 1 31
02 Mikhail Torrance.... g 5-12 2-3 0-0 0 5 5 2 12 3 2 0 1 26
12 Alonzo Gee.......... g 8-16 1-2 1-2 5 3 8 1 18 2 1 0 1 32
04 Brandon Hollinger... 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 3
21 Senario Hillman..... 7-12 1-2 2-3 1 1 2 2 17 1 2 0 1 20
25 Andw Steele....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 8
32 JaMychal Gen...... 2-4 0-0 5-6 2 6 8 4 9 2 2 3 1 20
34 Yamene Coleman...... 3-4 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 3 8 0 3 0 0 18
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 28-61 5-11 12-15 15 26 41 21 73 13 21 3 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-36 47.2% 2nd Half: 11-25 44.0% Game: 45.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-1 0.0% Game: 45.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 10-11 90.9% Game: 80.0% 0
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Officials: J.B. Caldwell, Bert Smith, Joe Lindsay
Technical fouls: South Carolina-None. Alabama-None.
Attendance: 10224
Sco by Periods 1st 2nd Total
South Carolina................ 31 44 - 75
Alabama....................... 41 32 - 73
Points in the paint-SC 40,UA 40. Points off turnovers-SC 23,UA 11.
2nd chance points-SC 15,UA 16. Fast bak points-SC 4,UA 12.
Bench points-SC 18,UA 37. Sco tied-6 times. Lead changed-7 times.
Last FG-SC 2nd-00:00, UA 2nd-03:43.
Largest lead-SC by 4 2nd-09:12, UA by 15 1st-09:12.