A torrent of national scrutiny followed Brandon Miller to South Carolina on Wednesday, but Alabama’s star freshman left Columbia as the hero of the Tide’s latest SEC win.

Miller scored a career-best 41 points, including the game-tying layup at the end of regulation, of Alabama’s 78-76 victory over the Gamecocks. Miller scored six of Alabama’s 10 points in overtime, weaving to the basket to score the game-winner with less than a second remaining.

Miller’s 41 points were tied for the seventh-most in school history, and were the most since Collin Sexton scored 40 against Minnesota for the shorthanded Tide in 2017.

The No. 2-ranked Tide, favored by 17 points, avoided a significant upset and setback in its race for an SEC regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament next month. Alabama improved to 24-4 overall and 14-1 in the SEC, keeping a one-game lead over Texas A&M. The Aggies have won six games in a row and sit 13-2 in conference play.

Miller was booed by South Carolina fans when he touched the ball and faced chants after his name surfaced in a Tuscaloosa court Tuesday during a hearing for former teammate Darius Miles’ murder charge. Miller was not charged and was not disciplined by Alabama as police considered him a witness, not a suspect.

Alabama returns home Saturday to host Arkansas at 1 p.m. CT. The game will include senior day ceremonies for the Tide, which will honor three players in scholarship forwards Noah Gurley and Dom Welch, as well as walk-on guard Adam Cottrell.

Next week, Alabama hosts Auburn on Wednesday night before its Saturday regular-season finale in College Station.

This story will be updated.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.