USC Loses Late Again, Falls to (18) Arkansas

COLUMBIA, S.C. – It was a senior night to remember for the Gamecock men’s basketball team and Tyrone Johnson, but it would run out of gas against the No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks (24-6, 13-4 SEC) Thursday night, falling 78-74. Led by their senior guard, Carolina erased a 20-point deficit to lead by double figures with six minutes remaining, but ended the season with a loss to move it to 14-15 overall and 5-12 in the SEC. The Arkansas offense was rolling early, hitting its first four shots and six of its first seven through the first five minutes of the game. The Gamecocks held tough through the early burst, and trailed just 13-10 despite that 6-of-7 start for the Hogs. It would not be able to last through the entire early run, and an 8-0 run allowed forced a timeout from the Carolina bench facing a 24-12 deficit. The run would stretch out to 15-3 to see the Hogs move ahead 31-15, hitting 6-of-8 field goals in that stretch compared to just two shots total for Carolina. The veteran leadership of Tyrone Johnson and Michael Carrera would carry the Gamecocks out of the hole, and back into contention as the half winded down. Arkansas’ lead would peak at 20 points, 43-23, with 6:15 still to play before the Gamecock offense began rolling. Johnson and Carrera alternated baskets on three straight possessions to get it rolling, and a pair of free throws from Duane Notice would make it a 10-point game for the first time in over nine minutes of game time. Carolina would finish the final six minutes on a 15-6 run and headed to intermission down 49-38. The Gamecocks closed out the first half with five baskets in seven attempts while holding Arkansas to just 2-of-10. Both teams would hit 50 percent or better from the field, with the Razorback posting the most first-half points allowed by Carolina all season. The team’s strong finish to the first half would be taken to another level coming out of the break, opening with a 16-4 run that would give it its first lead of the night, 54-53 on a Carrera tip-in. After the Razorbacks reclaimed the lead at 56-54, a 7-0 run for the Gamecocks put ahead by five with 11:29 still to go. A dunk from Michael Qualls made it a one-possession game before another sizable run from the Gamecocks had the Colonial Life Arena crowd in a frenzy. Five different players would contribute to a 10-2 run that gave the home side its biggest lead of the night at 71-60 with 7:20 to play. Stretching all the way back to its biggest deficit of 43-23, Carolina outscored the Hogs 48-17 in a span of 18 minutes, 55 seconds of action. The nationally ranked Razorbacks would not go quietly, and began to chip away at the lead. A key factor in the final comeback would be the absence of Johnson, who went down with an apparent cramp with 2:29 to play and the team still ahead 73-70. In his absence, the team’s offensive woes were exacerbated, as it scored just one point after he was forced to leave the game A jumper from Qualls gave Arkansas a 74-73 lead, and after two misses on Carolina’s ensuing possession the Razorbacks collected two offensive rebounds to set up a Bobby Portis basket that would make it a three-point game. Sindarius Thornwell would draw a foul on a jumper with three seconds to play, but after missing the second shot Carolina was unable to get the rebound and would not get the ball back again.