Tide Tops the Gamecocks in Overtime

The Tide narrowly escaped an upset Wednesday night, beating the Gamecocks 78-76 in overtime. Brandon Miller scored the game-winning layup with 0.9 seconds left on the clock.

Alabama started the game off shaky, letting South Carolina lead 35-31 at halftime. Although the Tide was sitting at 40% shooting accuracy after the first, the Gamecocks overtook them with 56% shooting accuracy.

"This is my city," South Carolina star freshman GG Jackson yelled to the crowd before the half.

The energy in Colonial Life Arena was so high and the noise levels were through the roof. However, the Tide's depth has saved them yet again.

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Miller tied the end of the game with a layup taking them into a gutwrenching overtime. He also scored over half the Tide's points last night and led the evening with 41 points.

Miller has been the only Alabama player to score 40 points during a game since Collin Sexton against Minnesota in Nov. 2017.

“[Miller's] really good,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. “He’s long. He’s talented. He’s athletic. He’s gonna be playing next year probably for a team that’s gonna pay him a lot of money, if he so chooses to. But he’s really talented. He can shoot the 3, drive to the basket. He’s stronger than what you think and as physical as it gets down there.”

Other Tide players that scored high were Charles Bediako with 10 points, and Noah Clowney and Mark Sears tied with eight points scored.

Bediako played hard defense against the Gamecocks making him another standout player during the evening.

His big blocks and focused game granted Bediako the Hard Hat award against South Carolina.

None of the players attended postgame interviews, but Oats seemed content in his team.

"It's what they've done their whole lives and let some of the outside stuff out of their mind," Oats said.

Alabama has just three games left in the regular season. It welcomes Arkansas to Coleman Coliseum Feb. 25, Auburn on March 1, and travel to Aggieland to face Texas A&M on March 4 to close out the schedule.