South Carolina’s losing streak is now split evenly into two categories. Three blowouts, three narrow defeats.
The Gamecocks on Tuesday had a literal shot to snap out of their slide. Wes Myers dribbled to the right wing and handed off to Justin Minaya, who tried a contested 22 footer. The attempt came up well short as the buzzer sounded.
USC (13-13, 4-9 SEC) was a double-digit underdog against the No. 18 Volunteers (19-6, 9-4). It trailed by 14 points with 10:01 left in the second half. It got a combined 32 minutes from the previously little-used trio of Khadim Gueye, Jason Cudd and Ibrahim Famouke Doumbia.