It looked as if South Carolina had this one in hand in the second half, ahead 53-36 on B.J. Mack‘s basket with 15:41 to go.
But the Rebels (18-5, 5-5), behind Flanigan, went on a 24-9 run over the next 12 minutes and cut it to 62-60. But Stute followed with his fourth 3-pointer and Murray-Boyles, a freshman, took an inside pass from Josh Gray to extend the lead.
When it looked as if 7-foot-5 Jamarion Sharp had a can’t miss basket with 1:20 to go, Murray-Boyles, 10 inches shorter, rose up to knock the shot away.
Mississippi cut it to 68-65 on Flanigan’s inside layup with 38 seconds left. It had a final chance after Meechie Johnson‘s long 3 clanged away, but Murrell’s running 3 attempt was way off the mark.
The Rebels lost their second straight and fell for the fifth time in eight games.
South Carolina seemed to answer any concerns about how it would hold up after finally getting ranked by shooting 68% (18 for 29) in the opening half, with seven 3-pointers, to build a 43-31 lead.
KEY STAT
- South Carolina locked in defensively the final 5:40 of regulation allowing just five points on 20.0 percent shooting (2-for-10) by the Rebels. The Gamecocks entered today 17th nationally (1st in the SEC) in scoring defense allowing just 64.1 points per game. Carolina has now held 19 opponents (eight in conference play) to less than 70 points, which is T-2nd nationally with Maryland and Virginia and leads the SEC.
We win. WE DANCE. #Gamecocks🐔🏀 // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/oNGGsnlcNV
— Gamecock Men’s Basketball (@GamecockMBB) February 7, 2024
NOTABLES
- Freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles finished with a team-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds and two blocks. It marks back-to-back games the big man has led Carolina in scoring. He now has five games this season scoring in double-figures, four games leading the team in boards and six leading in blocks which was capped off by a critical deny at the rim with 1:22 remaining to keep the lead at five.
- Junior guard Meechie Johnson tied a career-high with eight assists to just one turnover. He has 17 assists and just one turnover over his last three games and has led the Gamecocks in two of the last three contests in helpers. Johnson chipped in on the boards grabbing five big rebounds for the Garnet & Black.
- Three Gamecocks scored in double-figures: Murray-Boyles (16), Myles Stute (12) and Ta’Lon Cooper (12). Stute shot 80.0 percent (4-for-5) from downtown, improving…