Then, with 12.7 seconds remaining, SC got one more shot. And it will never be looked at quite the same way again, either.
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The Sin-derella story finally ended Saturday for the South Carolina Gamecocks, but not until they threw a huge scare into Gonzaga in the first game of the Final Four. “Just an awesome basketball game”.
With a three-point lead and 12.7 seconds remaining, Few did the smart thing and gave an intentional foul at the proper time. All but left for dead at the midway point of the second half, SC had the lead just three-and-a-half minutes later.
On one hand, it’s so sad to see the Gamecocks get knocked out. With Sindarius Thornwell quiet after having the flu earlier this week, Gonzaga appeared on the verge of turning this into a blowout – just as it’s done for most of the season.
“Yeah, he got poked in the eye pretty good”, Zags coach Mark Few told Wolfson as the two teams headed into the locker room.
“The coaching staff does a really good job of figuring out, ‘What do we want to make this opponent do, and what do we want to keep them from doing?”
NORTH CAROLINA: Hicks 1-12 0-0 2, Meeks 11-13 3-6 25, Pinson 2-8 3-4 8, Jackson 6-13 6-6 22, Berry 2-14 5-9 11, Maye 0-3 2-2 2, Bradley 1-2 0-0 2, Britt 2-3 0-0 5, S.White 0-0 0-0 0, Woods 0-0 0-0 0.
North Carolina missed the shots. The senior made the first but missed the second and Gonzaga grabbed the rebound up two with 2.2 seconds left.
The Bulldogs would start to take a little advantage, though, as they shot at a high percentage, converting almost 58 percent of their field goals.
Many people will point to the stars of each team when looking for keys to what would be a historic Final Four victory for either program.
The South Carolina comeback fell short, but it was breathtaking as it unfolded.
Thornwell, who had missed Thursday’s practice with flu-like symptoms, said his illness had nothing to do with his lack of scoring. This had been the Gamecocks’ habit throughout the postseason. Hopefully we can put a protective contact it or something. But we don’t lay there. “But I thought, you know, getting those blocked shots would help us”.
He’s the big man putting pressure on the inside.
In what became the biggest possession of the game, Collins stepped back and dropped in lead-regaining three-pointer off the backboard.
Top-seeded Gonzaga went up 65-51 when Williams-Goss flipped in a driving layup and made a free throw for a three-point play with 10:55 left.
“You have 37 wins in a college season, I mean that’s just unbelievable”, said Williams-Goss, who scored a game-high 23 points. The Bulldogs overcame a slow start in the First Round to grind out a 20-point win over South Dakota State. He had four fouls at the time.
“That’s my job, is to go in and rim protect”. “I try to protect without fouling”.
Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski (24) in the Nike Zoom LeBron Soldier 10. Those could be hard to get away with against a team the calibre of North Carolina.
“I don’t think it was designated or anything”, he said.
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GLENDALE, AZ – APRIL 01: Dillon Brooks #24 of the Oregon Ducks defends Kennedy Meeks #3 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four Semifinal at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. Justin Jackson was one of the few to break through. In my head, I just said, I had no choice. “They’re always on me to show emotion, so that’s my fairly weak effort of showing emotion”.
