Alabama played on the road Wednesday night at South Carolina in Columbia’s Colonial Life Arena.
Here were the highlights:
OVERTIME
Alabama 78, South Carolina 76 (final): South Carolina tied the game 21 seconds left, but Miller came through again with a game-winning layup with less than one second remaining. USC’s desperation shot hit the rim but fell incomplete.
Alabama 76, South Carolina 74 (0:29.4): Alabama mounted a 6-0 run to take a four-point lead, but South Carolina erased that with a minute left in overtime. Brandon Miller responded with a layup, giving the ball back to the Gamecocks with 36 seconds left before a timeout.
SECOND HALF
South Carolina 68, Alabama 68 (end of regulation): Brandon Miller received the ball off a screen and beat his defender to the rim to score with four seconds left. South Carolina could not hit a desperation shot on the other end, sending the game to overtime.
South Carolina 68, Alabama 66 (0:14.3): Alabama called a timeout after South Carolina went back ahead, 68-66. That came after Bradley went 1-for-2 at the line. The Tide is 17-of-25 at the line (68 percent).
South Carolina 66, Alabama 65 (0:36): This is coming down to the wire, with the lead traded twice already in the final 90 seconds. Jaden Bradley headed to the line for two free throws that could put Alabama back ahead.
South Carolina 62, Alabama 59 (3:37): South Carolina made back-to-back three pointers to pull ahead by three points. The Gamecocks have made three of their past four shots from deep, and is 9-of-18 for the game. Alabama is 5-of-11 on three pointers in one of its worst performances of the season in that category.
Alabama 54, South Carolina 51 (7:59): The back-and-forth game continued with Alabama mounting a 9-0 run to go ahead by five points, its largest lead since early in the first half. That included a three-pointer by Mark Sears, the first beyond-the-arc make for someone other than Miller. Defensively, Alabama has cut down South Carolina’s shooting rate from 55 percent in the first half to 35 percent in the second half.
South Carolina 47, Alabama 44 (11:28): Brandon Miller was fouled before the timeout and will shoot three free throws with a chance to tie the game, but that came after the Gamecocks made another 7-0 run to pull back ahead by as many as five points. Miller has 25 points but Alabama has 11 turnovers and the Tide’s top four guards are a combined 2-of-16 shooting.
Alabama 41, South Carolina 40 (15:46): After the Gamecocks stretched their lead to seven points, Brandon Miller scored the game’s next 10 points on four consecutive made shots, including two three-pointers. Miller has scored 13 of the Tide’s past 14 points, and has 25 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting. The rest of Alabama is 0-for-7 on threes, and guards Jaden Bradley, Mark Sears, Jahvon Quinerly and Nimari Burnett are a combined 1-for-12 on field goals.
FIRST HALF
South Carolina 35, Alabama 31 (halftime): ESPN’s broadcast of the game cut out for part of the final minute of the first half, showing commercials instead. But when the broadcast returned, the Gamecocks’ Meechie Johnson hit a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer to put USC ahead by four points.
Jackson has 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Miller has 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting -- including 3-of-6 on three pointers -- for Alabama. The Tide is out-rebounding the Gamecocks, 18-11, but USC is out-shooting the Tide, 56 to 40 percent. South Carolina is 5-of-10 on three pointers, while Alabama is 3-of-11 with eight turnovers.
South Carolina 29, Alabama 25 (3:30): After the Tide’s 7-0 run, the Gamecocks scored the next five points, spurred by a Nick Pringle turnover and back-to-back missed shots by Jahvon Quinerly.
Alabama 25, South Carolina 24 (4:53): Officials stopped the game for a fight in the stands, the officials told ESPN’s announcing team. ESPN cameras briefly showed a man in an Alabama T-shirt being walked up the stairs by a police officer. As he was walking, two fans appeared to say something to the man, who reached toward them before the officer grabbed his arm and redirected him back up the stairs.
South Carolina 24, Alabama 23 (5:15): Alabama has responded with a 7-2 run to cut South Carolina’s lead, once seven points, to one point. Miller has scored 10 points, including the past five.
South Carolina 22, Alabama 15 (8:32): It is a 16-2 run for the Gamecocks, which have made their past seven shots. Alabama has missed its past four shots with five total turnovers. There are 34 NBA scouts from 18 different teams at the game, according to ESPN, with Miller one obvious draw along with Gamecocks forward GG Jackson, who has nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Miller has five points from his three-pointer and two free throws.
Alabama 13, South Carolina 11 (11:57): Miller connected on his first three pointer on his third attempt. As a team, Alabama has opened 1-of-6 from deep but has gotten to the free-throw line three times. It has forced five turnovers from the Gamecocks and leads the rebounding battle, 7-5.
Alabama 7, South Carolina 6 (15:40): Brandon Miller has been booed by fans in Colonial Life Arena when he has touched the ball early in the game. The crowd appears light on television for the midweek 9 p.m. ET tip-off. Miller threw away a pass for a turnover and missed a three-pointer, but made two free throws for his first points. Tide has started 2-of-5 from the field and 0-for-2 from three.
PREGAME
-- Alabama’s starting lineup is the same as usual: Jaden Bradley, Mark Sears, Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney and Charles Bediako.
-- Oats during his pregame CTSN interview: “If they’re playing their best game, and we’re playing our worst game, they’re better than us. We can’t afford to be doing that at this stage of the year. We’ve got to be a lot more consistent. If we’re both playing our best games, we’re the better team. So we need to be playing our best game. That will take care of any issues on that end. We need to be focused on what we need to do tonight. We need to come out with a bunch of energy. ... They’ve been a poor defensive team. I think we can make them pay for that. We’ve got a good offensive team.”
-- The Crimson Tide Sports Network broadcast of Alabama’s game read the school’s statement about Miller at the beginning of its pregame show and said that would be the only mention of it. Nate Oats was not asked about Miller and did not mention him during his pregame interview.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.