Once again the Georgia men’s basketball team went on the road, and once again it returns to Athens with a loss, for the seventh time this season.

This one – a 78-77 loss to South Carolina (13-8, 4-3) at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. – was like so many before it. Georgia (9-10, 1-5) led for much of the game but just couldn’t finish down the stretch. Again.

“We came up short, and I feel bad for a couple of misses we had late but that’s part of the game and we have to keep fighting forward,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said. “Tough times don’t last but tough people do, and these kids have to understand that they’ve come along way.”

Led by 33 points from Southeastern Conference’s leading scorer Devan Downey, South Carolina shot 52 percent, escaping a game Georgia seemed to have in the bag. Thanks to 50 percent shooting and a season-low nine turnovers, the Bulldogs led by as much as eight with eight minutes remaining.

“We can’t give up 52 percent on the road and expect to win,” Fox said. “We have to be a little better defensively, but Downey’s a great player and you have to give him credit for making plays.”

But Downey proved too much, scoring 12 of his 33 in those final eight minutes, regaining the decisive lead for his team at 78-77 with a driving layup with a minute left.

The Bulldogs had chances to grab their first road win of the season. Fresh out of a timeout, Georgia took advantage of a mismatch with Downey, getting the ball on the block to Trey Thompkins, but Thompkins was unable to convert a left-handed reverse layup.

“I feel bad for [Trey] because he had the ball right there at the basket and Trey has been a great player for us, and I have a lot of faith in him to make that play,” Fox said. “We had some mismatches and we took advantage of it going inside, but it just didn’t go down for him. I feel sick for Trey.”

The ball caromed off a South Carolina player, giving Georgia another chance. Georgia’s Dustin Ware was trapped and lost the ball on the sidelines, but Downey fouled Ware in the scramble for the loose ball with 3.5 seconds left, sending Ware to the line for a one-and-one.

Georgia was feeling good at that point with their best free-throw shooter – and third best in the conference at 83 percent – heading to the line with a chance to win it.

But the front end of the one-and-one clanged off the back iron and the Dogs were once again left with a blown lead and another loss on the road.

“Dustin shooting 80-plus percent from the line and just didn’t go down for him and that’s heartbreaking for those two kids because they’ve worked really hard,” Fox said of the misses by Thompkins and Ware.

Travis Leslie scored a season-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, but was held scoreless over the final 12 minutes. Thompkins was dominant in the first half with 13 first-half points but was stifled in the second half, shooting 2-of-9 in the final 20 minutes, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds on the night. Ricky McPhee also scored in double figures with 12.

Georgia returns home from their two-game road stretch with a two-game home stand with dates against Arkansas and Vanderbilt next week.