Georgia basketball came up agonizingly short at South Carolina, falling 94-90 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Freshman point guard Sahvir Wheeler was called for a charge with 1.4 seconds left and the Bulldogs down by two points, foiling UGA’s upset bid.
“We deserved to win the game — and so did South Carolina,” Georgia coach Tom Crean said. “Just as you have to get the 50-50 balls in the game, you hope to get the 50-50 calls in the game.
“There’s a lot of judgement calls that go into the game, and you hope you get your share, and I’m going to leave it at that.”
The Gamecocks (17-11, 9-6) kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive with their win over Georgia (14-14, 4-11), their ninth straight in the series.
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points on 11-of-22 shooting, pulling down seven rebounds with four assists.
There were 17 lead changes and 21 ties in the SEC Network-televised game.
The Bulldogs had three players foul out, including two of their top rebounders in Rayshaun Hammonds (13 points, 9 rebounds) and Toumani Camara (10 points, 6 rebounds).
Senior Jordan Harris fouled out despite playing just 10 minutes in a game that featured 56 fouls between the teams.
South Carolina had a 91-86 lead with 22 seconds left, but Georgia battled back and extended the game.
The Bulldogs had a chance to tie or win when Couisnard split a pair of free throws with 4.1 seconds left.
Wheeler took an inbounds pass near half court and drove the lane, finding contact. The whistle went in favor of the home team, as it had throughout the overtime period.
The Gamecocks made 9 of 13 free-throw attempts in overtime, while Georgia was just 3 of 6 in overtime.
The Bulldogs forced the overtime when Edwards hit two free throws with 7.5 seconds left to tie the game up at 79-79.
South Carolina had time for a final look, but Jermaine Couisnard missed a 3-pointer with just over three seconds left.
Edwards scored 32 of his points in regulation, including 10-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line.
The Gamecocks had led by as many as seven points in the second half, up 59-52 with 12:31 left, but Georgia rallied.
Edwards scored eight straight points during a 13-4 run that gave the Bulldogs a 65-63 lead.
The teams traded the lead three more times before overtime.
Georgia held a 42-40 lead at the half after the teams traded the lead seven times.
The Bulldogs led by as many as six points when Edwards scored two of his 12 opening-half points on a transition dunk.
The Gamecocks were never up by more than three, despite outscoring Georgia 34-14 in the paint and shooting 50 percent in the opening half.
The Bulldogs countered by hitting 6-of-17 beyond the 3-point arc while South Carolina was 0-for-5 from long distance through the first 20 minutes.
Georgia basketball returns to action at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum against NCAA tournament bubble team Arkansas.
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