ATHENS (AP) — Trick-shot specialist J.J. Frazier scored all of his 13 points in the second half and then joined his teammates in the postgame challenge of ranking his three 3-pointers.
Yante Maten scored 18 points, Kenny Gaines had 17, and Georgia beat No. 25 South Carolina 69-56 on Tuesday night, giving the Gamecocks their third loss.
Georgia led by 10 points at halftime and never trailed in the second half.
Frazier hit two late 3s for Georgia (12-8, 5-4 Southeastern Conference), which snapped a two-game losing streak.
South Carolina (19-3, 6-3) was denied its attempt to reach 20 wins for the first time since 2008-09, when the Gamecocks finished 21-10.
Sindarius Thornwell led South Carolina with 18 points.
Frazier's dramatics began on the opening possession of the second half.
He was trapped when he jumped over the South Carolina bench to save a ball. He couldn't find a quick exit so he finally walked around the bench as Georgia passed the ball around on the other end of the court.
Frazier sprinted to join his teammates before catching a pass and calmly making a 3-pointer for his first points of the game.
"I was just trying to find a way to get back in the game," Frazier said. "There were chairs blocking the short cut. I got confused on where I was supposed to go."
Georgia coach Mark Fox said he came close to calling a timeout before seeing Frazier finally figure out a path back to the court.
Late in the game, Frazier hit a 3-pointer from the corner for a 59-52 lead.
Then came more drama. With only 1:49 remaining and the shot clock about to expire, Frazier hit an unlikely 3 while falling back into the Georgia bench for a 62-53 lead.
"That's J.J.," Maten said. "He's good for those trick shots."
Maten said "skill-wise" Frazier's best 3 was his buzzer-beating fallaway shot before landing on the Georgia bench.
"But I like that bench shot," Maten said.
Frazier said he preferred his last 3 because "it gave us a little cushion and took a little pressure off us."
Georgia scored the last six points of the first half, including a jam and a layup by Maten, for a 33-23 lead.
The Bulldogs led 50-48 before two straight baskets by Gaines stretched the lead back to six points.
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DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Michael Carrera had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks, ending his streak of three straight games with 20 or more points.
He was called for his fourth foul with 31.3 seconds remaining and then was given a technical, ending his night.
Thornwell and Carrera were South Carolina's only scorers in double figures.
OUR BAD
The Gamecocks fell to 2-3 in SEC road games.
"We weren't engaged," Thornwell said. "Got to give credit where it's due. They played a great game. But a lot of the stuff that happened tonight was because of us, because our energy and our effort were not how it was supposed to have been."
TIP-INS
South Carolina: As the hot scorer entering the game, Carrera was the target of Georgia's student section, who booed when he touched the ball. ... The Gamecocks made only 6 of 28 shots (21.4 percent) from the field in the first half and were 18 for 57 to match their season low of 31.6 percent for the game. ... Carrera had three of the team's nine blocked shots.
Georgia: Charles Mann had 11 points including six free throws to pass Alec Kessler's career school record with 551. ... Junior F Kenny Paul Geno had two points in his first start since the first seven games of the season. Georgia has recently tried Houston Kessler, Derek Ogbeide and Mike Edwards at the small forward spot. Ogbeide, a freshman, was the Bulldogs' first substitute. ... Maten blocked four shots.
UP NEXT
South Carolina hosts No. 8 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Georgia hosts Auburn on Saturday.
