South Carolina 97-Mississippi State 89 Game Summary
COLONIAL LIFE ARENA
- South Carolina started slowly and trailed 9-3 before the offense clicked into gear. It helped that Mississippi State shot just 42 percent in the first half that included just 5-of-15 from 3-point range.
- The Gamecocks made 10 field goals in a row at one point in the first half and used a 12-2 run to take their biggest lead of the half at 34-22. The Bulldogs answered that run and got back within 37-34 before South Carolina made 4 of its last field goals to lead 46-39 at the break. The Gamecocks shot 63.3 percent in that half. Mike Sharavjamts led the way 11 points, and five plays scored at least 7 points during the opening 20 minutes.
- Mississippi State won the rebounding battle in the first half 21-11 in the first half and had a 10-0 advantage on offensive rebounds. That allowed the Bulldogs to have a 10-0 advantage on second chance points. Things were more even in the second half and Mississippi State only ended up with a 37-32 rebounding advantage.
- After having just 10 fouls called total in the first half, there were 13 called in the opening 8:30 of the second half. Mississippi State was in the bonus with over 12 minutes remaining. The Gamecocks reached the bonus with 10:59 remaining. There ended up being 45 fouls in the game.
- South Carolina continued to shoot well from the free throw line. The Gamecocks are the best free throw shooting team in the SEC and finished 23-of-27 (85.2 percent) while Mississippi State finished 17-of-30 for 56.7 percent.
- USC never trailed in the second half. The lead was four at 77-73 with 5:16 left when the Gamecocks went on a 6-0 run capped by a Kobe Knox layup with four minutes left. The Bulldogs got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
- Jordan Butler and Eli Ellis hit back to back threes to push the lead back to 13 points with 2;17 left, and the Gamecocks made 6-8 from the line from there for their final margin.
- Meechie Johnson topped the 20-point mark for the 10th time this season and the eighth time in SEC play this season. Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points before fouling out. Johnson averages 20 points in league play. The senior has three straight games over 20 points and is averaging 23 points during those three games.
- Five South Carolina players finished in double figures. Johnson had 21 with Mike Sharavjamts also scoring 21 points. That was a new career-high for Sharavjamts. His previous high was 19 points. Kobe Knox added 17 points, Elijah Strong chipped in with 16 points and Ellis finished with 13 points including that key 3-pointer with 2:14 remaining that gave the Gamecocks its largest lead at 89-76.
- Johnson dished out nine assists as well. The Gamecocks had 20 assists on 31 made field goals. Sharavjamts added five assists.
- Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard came in as the leading scorer in the SEC at 22.4 points per game. He was coming off a 46-point effort in a win over Auburn. He came in with three straight games of at least 31 points but he only finished with 13 points on Saturday. Hubbard was 4-of-20 from the floor and 2-of-12 from the 3-point line.
- Butler didn’t play in the first half but he came in and gave the Gamecocks a solid 10 minutes in the second half. He scored six points with three rebounds and connected on a key 3-pointer late. South Carolina didn’t get its first offensive rebound until Butler checked in and he quickly pulled down two offensive rebounds on the same possession.
- The Gamecocks again protected the ball well. They finished with just six turnovers. The Bulldogs also finished with six turnovers.
- South Carolina improves to 21-2 under Lamont Paris when they score over 80 points. The 55% shooting mark is the fifth best for the Gamecocks under Lamont Paris.
- South Carolina snapped a seven-game losing streak to improve to 12-15 and 3-13 in the SEC with four regular season games remaining. It was the first win in 32 days.
- The Gamecocks will be at home again on Tuesday at 7 pm against Kentucky. Mississippi State had a two-game winning streak snapped and falls to 13-14 overall. 5-9 in the SEC.