Alabama's Charvez Davis drives to the rim in the Crimson Tide's 68-63 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks at the SEC Tournament. (Getty Images)

The Alabama Crimson Tide (17-14, 7-10) took advantage of a 26-5 second-half run to knock off the South Carolina Gamecocks (15-16, 6-11) in the opening game of the 2010 SEC Basketball Tournament.

After losing to the Crimson Tide by nine points just over a week ago, the Gamecocks looked like they would build the momentum of a huge upset of No. 20 Vanderbilt.

The Gamecocks opened a huge 18-point lead early in the second half, as Alabama managed to score just one field goal in the first seven and a half minutes of the half.

Star point guard Devan Downey had a game-high 21 points for South Carolina, but it wasn't enough for the Gamecocks to advance to a second-round matchup against No. 2 Kentucky.

South Carolina gave the game away late in the second half, as the Crimson Tide answered with a 26-5 run of their own, taking a 60-59 lead with 2:07 remaining in the game.

A Tony Mitchell layup gave the Alabama the lead, and they extended their lead to 64-62 in the final minute of the game.

Downey went to the foul line with 18.3 seconds left and a chance to tie it, but he missed the first of two shots to keep Alabama in front 64-63. His made free-throw would be the last points South Carolina scored.

Alabama forward JaMychal Green responded on the other end with an easy layup after the Crimson Tide beat the South Carolina trap.

South Carolina's Sam Muldrow then turned the ball over on the ensuing in-bounds pass and Mitchell sank a pair of free-throws to ice the game at 68-63.

Alabama senior guard Mikhail Torrance scored a team-high 17 points to help the Crimson Tide stay alive in the SEC Tournament.

"We just came to understand that we're not ready to go home," Torrance said. "Coach Grant put me in a position to make plays and that's what I tried to do."

Whatever coach Anthony Grant told his team entering the second half seemed to work to perfection, as Alabama ratcheted up the defensive intensity, holding South Carolina to just 25 points in the second half.

"We talked about it at the half," Grant said. "We had been in this situation before. Are we going to fight, or are we ready to go home? We're going to enjoy this one."

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