Columbia, S.C. ? Rod Grizzard knew that for Alabama to win he had to follow one of his worst halves with one of his best.

“I had two points at halftime,” Grizzard said, shaking his head. “Me, leading the league in scoring last year and only two points, I can’t leave like that.”

He didn’t.

Grizzard scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half as the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide overcame a 15-point deficit to beat South Carolina, 52-51, Wednesday night as neither team scored over the final four minutes.

The Crimson Tide (21-4, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) had only 15 points at halftime and trailed 37-22 with 14:14 remaining. But Grizzard and Erwin Dudley took control for Alabama, combining for 23 points during a 30-14 run that gave the Tide a 52-51 lead with 4:09 to go.

Grizzard capped the run with a short turnaround and neither team scored after that.

“I thought Rod was terrific. He took the game over,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. “He played like an SEC player of the year candidate. I think that gave our team confidence.”

No. 3 Maryland 85, Georgia Tech 65

College Park, Md. Â Lonny Baxter had 22 points and 10 rebounds as No. 3 Maryland defeated Georgia Tech. Maryland (20-3, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) never before won 10 of its first 11 league games.

No. 10 Kentucky 67, Vanderbilt 59

Lexington, Ky. Â Tayshaun Prince scored 20 points and Keith Bogans had 12 as Kentucky beat Vanderbilt. Gerald Fitch and Jules Camara each had 10 points, and Marquis Estill added nine points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (17-6, 7-4 Southeastern Conference), who beat the Commodores for the 18th straight time.

No. 13 Miami 79, St. John’s 56

Miami  Elton Tyler scored 21 points and John Salmons added 16 as No. 13 Miami beat St. John’s. Tyler was 10-of-13 from the field, while Salmons had a career-high 11 assists and six rebounds for the Hurricanes (21-4, 8-4 Big East).

Clemson 118, No. 19 Wake Forest 115, 2 OT

Clemson, S.C. Â Edward Scott had career-highs of 30 points and 16 assists to lead Clemson over No. 19 Wake Forest.

The point total was one off the record for an Atlantic Coast Conference game as Maryland beat North Carolina State 124-110 on Dec. 20, 1978.

Wisconsin 64, No. 22 Indiana 63

Bloomington, Ind. Â Charlie Wills had 17 points and Kirk Penney scored Wisconsin’s final points on a three-pointer with 2:18 to go as the Badgers defeated No. 22 Indiana. The Badgers (15-11, 8-5 Big Ten) won in Bloomington for the first time since Feb. 24, 1977, and for only the third time in school history.