Gamecocks fade at finish

COLUMBIA -- South Carolina's goal was to hang with No. 20 Tennessee, to remain within eyeshot with five minutes to play.

So, in that regard, it was a successful Saturday. Then there was that whole business of the last five minutes and the final score. That didn't go as well.

The Gamecocks were seemingly bereft of energy, and the Volunteers suddenly had plenty of it in a 63-55 UT victory in front of an announced crowd of 15,622 fans inside Colonial Life Arena.

"We didn't make enough plays when we had to," USC coach Darrin Horn said.

It's kind of been a season defined by that concept, Horn reasoning that the road games at Florida and Georgia could've been won with one possession going differently.

This one wasn't that close for the sliding Gamecocks (14-12, 5-7 SEC) -- who've lost three in a row to fall from vision in the league's picture -- but you can point to a specific couple of possessions that quickly altered the afternoon.

The teams had alternated momentum until a timeout at the 7:13 mark, with the game tied at UT leading 47-46.

USC senior Brandis Raley-Ross put too much air under the inbound pass and All-SEC post Wayne Chism intercepted it near midcourt.

The Gamecocks' Sam Muldrow clumsily fouled Chism (it was Muldrow's fourth foul), and Chism hit both free throws.

Versatile Vol J.P. Prince then stole the inbound pass and he was fouled. Prince made both of those foul shots.

Two turnovers as fast as you could blink? The Gamecocks had only committed four turnovers in the previous 33 minutes.

In fact, Tennessee miscues were big in helping USC hang around most of the afternoon. At the point of Chism's steal, the Gamecocks were up 18-4 in the turnover differential.

Poor time for the law of averages to kick in, perhaps.

Chism and Prince each added another steal in the ensuing minutes, Prince's leading to an easy transition lay-in to make it 56-49 and, really, close the door on the lifeless Gamecocks.

South Carolina shot 31.7 percent for the game (20-for-63) and hit 5 of its 26 3-point tries (19.2 percent). It was 1-for-12 from 3-point range in the second half.

Indicative of a team fading? It could be construed that way, but Horn was chiseled in saying, no, that's not the case.

"Fatigue is an excuse for people that like to put blame on things," Horn said. "We are not going to make excuses. I don't know how you can be tired if you're a college kid in this environment playing in a 2-3 zone for 35 of 40 minutes."

If it's not legs going, what is it?

"It's the game of basketball," said Raley, who led the team with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. "Some shots are going to go in, some aren't."

Additionally, Horn said the Gamecocks started standing around in the half-court offense, rather than moving and screening to get better shots - and namely get better shots for star Devan Downey.

Downey was 4-for-18 from the field, himself, finishing with 15 points - his low in SEC play. It's his lowest output since the Dec. 6 Clemson game in which he had eight points.

It wasn't just poor half-court play. Downey had open looks, too, and just didn't make them.

"I thought, again, we did a great job on Devan," said Vols coach Bruce Pearl, whose team held Downey to 5-of-20 shooting in the season's first meeting. "We made most of the shots he got challenged."

Tennessee runs its win streak against USC to seven games, including all four meetings since Horn took over. This one was at least close for most of the day; the other three, really, had not been.

It's another 20-win season for the Vols (20-6, 8-4), who're doing it despite dismissing their best player, Tyler Smith.

Meanwhile, Horn said the Gamecocks continue to stand in the ring, despite the waves of bruising punches. The hope, he said, is pointing toward the big-picture future - not just the next month or so.

"We're going to keep playing," he said. "If anything, we need to make sure we continue to move forward to remember we're building a program, regardless of how games turn out."

Asked if guys are getting down, Downey bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. Remember that Downey, a fifth-year senior, only has so much future left at USC.

"We've just got to play through that," he said. "I don't think anybody's getting frustrated."

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com, check out the Gamecocks blog at postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks and follow him on Twitter (@gamecocksblog).