ATLANTA — The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will play South Carolina in its Friday afternoon Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal.
The Gamecocks beat LSU 77-73 in a first-round game Thursday afternoon at the Georgia Dome.
A Chris Johnson 3-pointer cut South Carolina’s lead to 76-73 with 19.8 seconds left, and senior wing Dwayne Day missed two free throws to give the Tigers a shot — but Marcus Thornton’s 3-pointer missed, and Zam Frederick hit a free throw with 3.1 seconds left to seal it.
LSU overcame a 10-point, first-half deficit to take a 49-44 lead early in the second half, but South Carolina re-gained the lead with a late 14-2 run. Sophomore guard Devan Downey hit a 3-pointer with less then 4 minutes left to cap the spurt and give the Gamecocks a 71-59 lead.
SEC regular season champion Tennessee (28-3) swept the Gamecocks (14-17) this season, winning two games by a total of 57 points. The Vols won 80-56 at South Carolina on Jan. 12, and they beat the Gamecocks 89-56 in Knoxville on Sunday.
Tennessee hasn’t won more than one game in any SEC tournament since 1991. The Vols advanced to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen in 2000 and 2007 but went winless in the SEC tournament both seasons.
Read www.timesfreepress.com throughout the day and Friday’s print edition for more information.
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