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March's best story fades as calendar flips

South Carolina head coach Frank Martin talks to his players during the second half in the semifinals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament against Gonzaga, Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Frank Martin almost extended his Mr. March run into April.

The South Carolina head basketball coach seemed like a million good stories. From his youth in Little Havana in Miami to leading the Gamecocks to the first Final Four in school history, he was the most interesting story of the NCAA Tournament.

On some days, he also looks like the closet light was burned out when he got dressed.

The feel-good story continued right up until reality and the Gonzaga Bulldogs stole the punchline by controlling the tempo when they needed to and not being controlled when the Gamecocks sped the game up.

The team that was more relaxed, more experienced and wanted it more is the team that won 77-73. That team was Gonzaga.

So there won't be any fairy tales of the state of South Carolina being the new home of champions. Clemson won the football national championship, and the South Carolina women's basketball team plays Mississippi State for the championship tonight.

It was almost a Cinderella story, but midnight struck for South Carolina with 6:40 to play.

That's when Gonzaga's Zach Collins shot a three-pointer that hit the rim and backboard almost simultaneously, died there but dropped through the net.

Until then, the Gamecocks were on a 16-0 run to take their first lead, 67-65, since leading 10-8 early in the first half.

Midway through the second half, with the mountain of a man Przemek Karnowski on Gonzaga's bench with three fouls, the Gamecocks put together the run that seemed to knock Gonzaga out. Then came the lucky three-pointer and Karnowski, who re-entered to stop the bleeding with back-to-back field goals.

South Carolina would stay close, but it was obvious the Zags were relentless and a team that really plays well together, as evidenced by their 15 assists from six different players.

The No. 7 seed Gamecocks proved the NCAA Tournament selection committee was right to believe in them, but as good as they played in their big run, they still couldn't overcome poor shot selection, especially at critical times.

In the first half, when Gonzaga's immovable force -- the 7-1, 304-pound Karnowski -- went down after catching a finger to his eye while he had a shot blocked, it seemed the momentum would swing toward South Carolina.

Karnowski had helped hold the Gamecocks to eight field goals that weren't three-pointers, and his teammates had controlled the tempo; but suddenly, the Bulldogs' big was out and the score was tied at 31-31.

The Gamecocks took control of the tempo but nothing else, as they pulled the trigger too quickly, too often on shots and were outscored 14-5 to go into intermission down 45-36.

No one knew whether the Zags would continue to shoot lights out -- 19 of 33 from the floor in the first half -- but one thing was certain at the break: They could run if they had to.

It seemed like every time the Gamecocks attempted to seize momentum, someone from Gonzaga would hit a big shot or grab a key rebound.

South Carolina, whose shot selection led to a total 13 of 35 from the floor in the opening half, got some help off the bench and off turnovers, outscoring the Zags 7-0 in the opening half off turnovers. But the team that made the Final Four because of its defense didn't have any answers in the opening half.

The Gamecocks had a shot, but the Zags refused to back down with everything on the line. Killian Tillie, a freshman from France, iced the game with two free throws with 2.2 seconds left.

It still was a great March for Martin and the Gamecocks.

Sports on 04/02/2017