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Maten leads Georgia past No. 25 South Carolina, 69-56

Yante Maten

Georgia forward Yante Maten (1) celebrates Georgia’s 69-56 victory over South Carolina after an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Richard Hamm)

AP

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) 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.

J.J. Frazier scored 13 points - all in the second half - and hit two 3-pointers in the closing minutes for Georgia (12-8, 5-4 Southeastern Conference). The Bulldogs 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.

Michael Carrera had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks, ending his streak of three straight games with 20 or more points.

No other South Carolina player scored in double figures.

The Gamecocks fell to 2-3 in SEC road games.

Georgia scored the last six points of the first half, including a jam and a layup by Maten, for a 33-23 lead over the cold-shooting Gamecocks.

Georgia took a big lead at 39-26 early in the second half before Duane Notice and Thornwell hit consecutive 3s for the Gamecocks. A basket by Carrera capped a quick 8-0 run to cut the lead to 39-34.

The Bulldogs led 50-48 before two straight baskets by Gaines stretched the lead back to six points. Frazier hit a 3-pointer from the corner for a 59-52 lead.

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.

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WAIT FOR ME

Frazier was trapped when he jumped over the South Carolina bench on the opening possession of the second half. He finally walked around the bench as Georgia passed the ball around on the other end of the court and then sprinted to join his teammates before catching a pass and calmly making a 3-pointer for his first points of the game.

TIP-INS

South Carolina: Carrera was called for his fourth foul with 31.3 seconds remaining and then was given a technical, ending his night. 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 was 18 for 57 (31.6 percent) for the game.

Georgia: 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. ... Charles Mann had 11 points.

UP NEXT

South Carolina hosts No. 8 Texas A&M on Saturday.

Georgia hosts Auburn on Saturday.