Johnson posts a career-high 29 points in South Carolina's win over Notre Dame

AP
Nov 28, 2023

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Meechie Johnson scored a career-high 29 points and B.J. Mack scored 17 points and South Carolina Gamecocks used the second half to distance itself from Notre Dame Fighting Irish and beat the Irish 65-53 on Tuesday night in an ACC/SEC Challenge contest.

South Carolina (6-0) is off to its best start since former coach Frank Martin took the program to the Final Four in 2017.

Johnson finished 9-for-15 shooting, Mack was 6 for 15 and the rest of the Gamecocks went 4 for 20. South Carolina made 38% (19 of 50) of its shot attempts.

Trae Davis scored 15 points, J.R. Konieczny 11 and Julian Roper II 10 for Notre Dame (3-3).

South Carolina capitalized on Notre Dame's 1-for-13 shooting stretch in the second half, and when Johnson made a pull-up bank shot in the lane, the Gamecocks reached their biggest lead to that point, 48-41, with 8:23 left. Less than a minute later, Johnson made a 3-pointer and the Gamecocks led by double figures for most of the remainder.

Braeden Shrewsberry gave Notre Dame its last lead at 40-38 with 14:14 left. South Carolina led 31-28 at halftime.

Notre Dame opens ACC play on Saturday traveling to No. 8 Miami.

South Carolina hosts George Washington on Friday.

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1st Half
ND
Fighting Irish
28
SCAR
Gamecocks
31

Time		Play	Score
20:00		(Fighting Irish gains possession)
20:00		Markus Burton misses two point jump shot
19:58		Markus Burton offensive rebound
19:26		J.R. Konieczny misses two point layup
19:24		Gamecocks defensive rebound
19:15		B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot
19:13		Markus Burton defensive rebound
18:59		Kebba Njie misses two point jump shot
18:57		Gamecocks defensive rebound
18:34		B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot
18:32		Fighting Irish defensive rebound
18:04	+3	J.R. Konieczny makes three point jump shot (Kebba Njie assists)	3-0
17:40		Meechie Johnson turnover (lost ball)
17:11		J.R. Konieczny misses three point jump shot
17:09		Tae Davis offensive rebound
17:05		Julian Roper II misses three point jump shot
17:03		Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound
16:54		Myles Stute turnover (lost ball) (Kebba Njie steals)
16:44		Markus Burton turnover (bad pass) (B.J. Mack steals)
16:26		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
16:24		J.R. Konieczny defensive rebound
15:59	+2	Julian Roper II makes two point hook shot	5-0
15:36		Jacobi Wright misses two point jump shot
15:34		Julian Roper II defensive rebound
15:07	+3	Julian Roper II makes three point jump shot (Kebba Njie assists)	8-0
14:51		Tae Davis shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul)
14:51		TV timeout
14:51	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 2	8-1
14:51	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 2 of 2	8-2
14:23		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk blocks Kebba Njie's two point layup
14:23		Fighting Irish offensive rebound
14:22	+2	Tae Davis makes two point jump shot (Markus Burton assists)	10-2
14:02		Matt Zona shooting foul (Jacobi Wright draws the foul)
14:02	+1	Jacobi Wright makes regular free throw 1 of 2	10-3
14:02	+1	Jacobi Wright makes regular free throw 2 of 2	10-4
13:37		Myles Stute shooting foul (Tae Davis draws the foul)
13:37	+1	Tae Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	11-4
13:37		Tae Davis misses regular free throw 2 of 2
13:37		Gamecocks defensive rebound
13:37		Matt Zona personal foul
13:09		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
13:07		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk offensive rebound
13:01	+2	Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk makes two point layup	11-6
12:35		Fighting Irish turnover (shot clock violation)
12:10		Myles Stute misses two point jump shot
12:08		Jacobi Wright offensive rebound
12:02		Myles Stute turnover (lost ball) (Markus Burton steals)
11:53		Markus Burton turnover (lost ball) (Zachary Davis steals)
11:47		Matt Zona shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
11:47		TV timeout
11:47	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	11-7
11:47	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	11-8
11:34		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk personal foul
11:33		B.J. Mack personal foul
11:16	+2	Braeden Shrewsberry makes two point layup	13-8
10:58	+3	Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Zachary Davis assists)	13-11
10:24		J.R. Konieczny misses two point jump shot
10:22		Gamecocks defensive rebound
10:22		Kebba Njie personal foul
10:08	+3	Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (B.J. Mack assists)	13-14
9:46		Markus Burton misses two point jump shot
9:44		Zachary Davis defensive rebound
9:26		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
9:24		Morris Ugusuk offensive rebound
9:19		Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot
9:17		Fighting Irish defensive rebound
9:15		Gamecocks turnover
8:59		Julian Roper II turnover (lost ball)
8:45		Morris Ugusuk misses three point jump shot
8:43		Fighting Irish defensive rebound
8:19		Markus Burton turnover (lost ball) (Meechie Johnson steals)
8:01	+3	B.J. Mack makes three point jump shot (Meechie Johnson assists)	13-17
7:35		Markus Burton misses three point jump shot
7:33		Kebba Njie offensive rebound
7:31		Meechie Johnson personal foul
7:31		TV timeout
7:12	+2	J.R. Konieczny makes two point layup	15-17
6:49	+3	Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	15-20
6:27	+3	Tae Davis makes three point jump shot (Markus Burton assists)	18-20
6:04		Tae Davis blocks Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk's two point jump shot
6:03		Gamecocks offensive rebound
6:03		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
6:01		Tae Davis defensive rebound
5:45		Kebba Njie misses two point hook shot
5:43		Zachary Davis defensive rebound
5:29	+2	Meechie Johnson makes two point jump shot	18-22
5:07	+3	Markus Burton makes three point jump shot (Braeden Shrewsberry assists)	21-22
4:43		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
4:41		Tae Davis defensive rebound
4:29		J.R. Konieczny misses two point layup
4:27		Gamecocks defensive rebound
4:27		Tae Davis personal foul
4:08	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	21-24
3:43		Kebba Njie misses two point jump shot
3:41		Kebba Njie offensive rebound
3:40		Kebba Njie misses two point layup
3:38		B.J. Mack defensive rebound
3:25		Markus Burton shooting foul (Myles Stute draws the foul)
3:25		TV timeout
3:25		Myles Stute misses regular free throw 1 of 2
3:25		Myles Stute misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:25		Julian Roper II defensive rebound
3:07	+3	J.R. Konieczny makes three point jump shot (Markus Burton assists)	24-24
2:46		Julian Roper II shooting foul (Ta'Lon Cooper draws the foul)
2:46	+1	Ta'Lon Cooper makes regular free throw 1 of 2	24-25
2:46	+1	Ta'Lon Cooper makes regular free throw 2 of 2	24-26
2:26		Markus Burton misses two point layup
2:24		Julian Roper II offensive rebound
2:17	+2	Julian Roper II makes two point layup	26-26
2:11		B.J. Mack misses two point layup
2:09		Carey Booth defensive rebound
2:00		Markus Burton turnover (lost ball)
1:49		B.J. Mack misses two point jump shot
1:47		Carey Booth defensive rebound
1:33		Markus Burton misses three point jump shot
1:31		Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound
1:20	+2	Meechie Johnson makes two point jump shot	26-28
0:58		Zachary Davis shooting foul (J.R. Konieczny draws the foul)
0:58	+1	J.R. Konieczny makes regular free throw 1 of 2	27-28
0:58	+1	J.R. Konieczny makes regular free throw 2 of 2	28-28
0:39	+3	Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists)	28-31
0:29		Fighting Irish 30 second timeout
0:04		Braeden Shrewsberry misses three point jump shot
0:02		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
ND
Fighting Irish
25
SCAR
Gamecocks
34

Time		Play	Score
19:48		Kebba Njie blocks B.J. Mack's three point jump shot
19:46		Gamecocks offensive rebound
19:40		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
19:38		Ta'Lon Cooper offensive rebound
19:38		Julian Roper II personal foul
19:26		Markus Burton shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
19:26	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	28-32
19:26	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	28-33
19:10		Myles Stute blocks J.R. Konieczny's two point layup
19:08		Markus Burton offensive rebound
19:03	+2	Markus Burton makes two point jump shot	30-33
18:50		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
18:48		Julian Roper II defensive rebound
18:35		Stephen Clark blocks Julian Roper II's two point jump shot
18:33		Fighting Irish offensive rebound
18:17		J.R. Konieczny misses three point jump shot
18:15		Gamecocks defensive rebound
18:15		Tae Davis personal foul
17:57		Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot
17:55		Myles Stute offensive rebound
17:54		Julian Roper II shooting foul (Myles Stute draws the foul)
17:54	+1	Myles Stute makes regular free throw 1 of 2	30-34
17:54		Myles Stute misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:54		Tae Davis defensive rebound
17:38		Stephen Clark personal foul
17:31	+3	Braeden Shrewsberry makes three point jump shot (Markus Burton assists)	33-34
17:15		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
17:13		Kebba Njie defensive rebound
17:07	+2	Tae Davis makes two point layup	35-34
17:07		Myles Stute shooting foul (Tae Davis draws the foul)
17:07	+1	Tae Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 1	36-34
16:43		Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot
16:41		Kebba Njie defensive rebound
16:21		Josh Gray shooting foul (Kebba Njie draws the foul)
16:21	+1	Kebba Njie makes regular free throw 1 of 2	37-34
16:21	+1	Kebba Njie makes regular free throw 2 of 2	38-34
16:01		Carey Booth shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
16:01	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	38-35
16:01	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	38-36
15:51		Carey Booth misses three point jump shot
15:49		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
15:39		Jacobi Wright misses two point jump shot
15:37		J.R. Konieczny defensive rebound
15:25		TV timeout
15:23		Carey Booth misses three point jump shot
15:21		Gamecocks defensive rebound
15:11	+2	Meechie Johnson makes two point jump shot	38-38
14:53		Markus Burton misses three point jump shot
14:51		Josh Gray defensive rebound
14:38		Ta'Lon Cooper offensive foul
14:38		Ta'Lon Cooper turnover (offensive foul)
14:14	+2	Braeden Shrewsberry makes two point jump shot	40-38
13:46		Braeden Shrewsberry shooting foul (Ta'Lon Cooper draws the foul)
13:46	+1	Ta'Lon Cooper makes regular free throw 1 of 2	40-39
13:46	+1	Ta'Lon Cooper makes regular free throw 2 of 2	40-40
13:16		Braeden Shrewsberry misses two point jump shot
13:15		Fighting Irish offensive rebound
13:15		Fighting Irish turnover (shot clock violation)
12:59		B.J. Mack misses two point layup
12:57		Tae Davis defensive rebound
12:48		Tae Davis misses two point layup
12:46		B.J. Mack defensive rebound
12:36		Jacobi Wright misses two point layup
12:34		Kebba Njie defensive rebound
12:24		Braeden Shrewsberry turnover (lost ball) (Jacobi Wright steals)
12:13	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point layup	40-42
11:44		Zachary Davis shooting foul (Tae Davis draws the foul)
11:44		TV timeout
11:44		Tae Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:44		Tae Davis misses regular free throw 2 of 2
11:44		Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound
11:25		Kebba Njie blocks B.J. Mack's two point jump shot
11:23		Gamecocks offensive rebound
11:18	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot	40-44
11:01		B.J. Mack personal foul (J.R. Konieczny draws the foul)
11:01		J.R. Konieczny misses regular free throw 1 of 2
11:01	+1	J.R. Konieczny makes regular free throw 2 of 2	41-44
10:45	+2	Ta'Lon Cooper makes two point layup (B.J. Mack assists)	41-46
10:45		J.R. Konieczny shooting foul (Ta'Lon Cooper draws the foul)
10:45		Ta'Lon Cooper misses regular free throw 1 of 1
10:45		Julian Roper II defensive rebound
10:25		Kebba Njie misses two point hook shot
10:23		Fighting Irish offensive rebound
10:18		J.R. Konieczny misses three point jump shot
10:16		Zachary Davis defensive rebound
9:55		Jacobi Wright turnover (bad pass)
9:35		Braeden Shrewsberry misses three point jump shot
9:33		B.J. Mack defensive rebound
9:16		Meechie Johnson misses two point layup
9:14		Kebba Njie defensive rebound
9:11		Braeden Shrewsberry misses three point jump shot
9:09		Gamecocks defensive rebound
8:41		Kebba Njie blocks B.J. Mack's two point layup
8:39		Tae Davis defensive rebound
8:36		Julian Roper II misses two point layup
8:34		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
8:28	+2	Meechie Johnson makes two point layup	41-48
8:23		Fighting Irish 30 second timeout
8:23		TV timeout
8:11		Meechie Johnson personal foul (Markus Burton draws the foul)
8:11		Markus Burton misses regular free throw 1 of 1
8:11		Zachary Davis defensive rebound
7:57	+3	Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	41-51
7:40		Tae Davis misses two point jump shot
7:38		Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound
7:34		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
7:32		Carey Booth defensive rebound
7:15		Kebba Njie misses two point hook shot
7:13		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk defensive rebound
6:56		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk offensive foul
6:56		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk turnover (offensive foul)
6:56		TV timeout
6:41	+2	Tae Davis makes two point layup	43-51
6:41		Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk shooting foul (Tae Davis draws the foul)
6:41	+1	Tae Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 1	44-51
6:23		B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot
6:21		Carey Booth defensive rebound
6:08		Meechie Johnson shooting foul (Markus Burton draws the foul)
6:08		Markus Burton misses regular free throw 1 of 1
6:08	+1	Markus Burton makes regular free throw 2 of 2	45-51
5:40	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	45-53
5:06		Julian Roper II misses three point jump shot
5:04		Tae Davis offensive rebound
5:04		Fighting Irish turnover (shot clock violation)
4:49	+2	Meechie Johnson makes two point jump shot	45-55
4:36		Jacobi Wright shooting foul (Julian Roper II draws the foul)
4:36	+1	Julian Roper II makes regular free throw 1 of 2	46-55
4:36		Julian Roper II misses regular free throw 2 of 2
4:36		Tae Davis offensive rebound
4:34		Zachary Davis blocks Tae Davis's two point layup
4:32		Markus Burton offensive rebound
4:20		Julian Roper II turnover (lost ball)
4:02	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point layup (Zachary Davis assists)	46-57
3:54		Ta'Lon Cooper shooting foul (Markus Burton draws the foul)
3:54		TV timeout
3:54	+1	Markus Burton makes regular free throw 1 of 2	47-57
3:54	+1	Markus Burton makes regular free throw 2 of 2	48-57
3:36	+3	Ta'Lon Cooper makes three point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists)	48-60
3:24		Markus Burton offensive foul
3:24		Markus Burton turnover (offensive foul)
3:07		Ta'Lon Cooper misses two point jump shot
3:05		Gamecocks offensive rebound
3:05		Kebba Njie personal foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul)
3:05		B.J. Mack misses regular free throw 1 of 1
3:05		Julian Roper II defensive rebound
2:53		Carey Booth misses three point jump shot
2:51		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
2:27		Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot
2:25		B.J. Mack offensive rebound
2:19		Carey Booth shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul)
2:19	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 2	48-61
2:19	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 2 of 2	48-62
1:57		Markus Burton turnover (lost ball) (Ta'Lon Cooper steals)
1:27		Ta'Lon Cooper misses two point jump shot
1:25		Markus Burton defensive rebound
1:21	+2	Tae Davis makes two point layup (Markus Burton assists)	50-62
1:21		Meechie Johnson shooting foul (Tae Davis draws the foul)
1:21	+1	Tae Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 1	51-62
1:20		Logan Imes personal foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
1:20		Meechie Johnson misses regular free throw 1 of 2
1:20	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	51-63
1:04	+2	Julian Roper II makes two point layup	53-63
0:56		Logan Imes personal foul (Jacobi Wright draws the foul)
0:56	+1	Jacobi Wright makes regular free throw 1 of 2	53-64
0:56	+1	Jacobi Wright makes regular free throw 2 of 2	53-65
0:49		J.R. Konieczny misses three point jump shot
0:47		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
0:17		Gamecocks turnover (shot clock violation)
0:00		End of period

Gamecocks turnover (shot clock violation)