Meechie Johnson helps South Carolina hold off Mississippi State, 68-62 in SEC opener
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Meechie Johnson had a clutch steal and hit four free throws in the final seconds to allow South Carolina to hold off Mississippi State 68-62 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.
Johnson scored 15 of his team-high 24 points over the final 11 minutes, hitting 8 of 8 from the free throw line with a key steal and an assist to help hold off the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State never led in the second half but tied the game at 42 on Dashawn Davis' jumper with 11:51 to play. The Gamecocks responded with a Collin Murray-Boyles jumper and Johnson hit 2 of 3 from the line and followed up with a 3 in a 9-0 run with just under 10 minutes left.
Josh Hubbard turned a four-point play with 22 seconds left to get the Bulldogs within 64-62. Ta'Lon Cooper drew a foul with :17 left but missed both free throws. D.J. Jeffries pulled in the rebound, but Johnson forced Dashawn Davis to pick up his dribble well behind the 3-point line, then stole the ball and drew a foul with :07 left. His two free throws made it a two-possession game, then he added two more to set the final score.
Johnson hit 6 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 7 from behind the arc, and was 9 of 11 from the line to finish with 24 points. Myles Stute added 15 points. South Carolina (13-1, 1-0) hit 21 of 52 from the field (40.4%) and was 18 of 26 from the line. The Gamecocks had a 35-26 advantage on the boards and scored 16 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.
Mississippi State (11-3, 0-1) was 25 of 52 from the field (48.1%), but hit just 3 of 13 from distance and was 9 of 14 from the line. Tolu Smith and Hubbard both scored 13 points off the bench to lead the Bulldogs. Shakeel Moore had 10 points.
South Carolina plays at Alabama on Tuesday. Mississippi State plays host to No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Â | Cameron Matthews vs. Meechie Johnson (Bulldogs gains possession) | Â | |
19:32 | Â | Jimmy Bell Jr. misses two point hook shot | Â | |
19:30 | Â | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | Â | |
19:02 | Â | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
19:00 | Â | Gamecocks offensive rebound | Â | |
19:00 | Â | Gamecocks turnover (shot clock violation) | Â | |
18:47 | Â | B.J. Mack personal foul (Jimmy Bell Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
18:47 | Â | Jimmy Bell Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
18:47 | Â | Jimmy Bell Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | Â | |
18:47 | Â | D.J. Jeffries offensive rebound | Â | |
18:38 | Â | D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot | Â | |
18:36 | Â | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | Â | |
18:33 | Â | Jump ball. Cameron Matthews vs. Meechie Johnson (Gamecocks gains possession) | Â | |
18:19 | Â | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
18:17 | Â | Shakeel Moore defensive rebound | Â | |
17:59 | +2 | Dashawn Davis makes two point layup | 2-0 | |
17:30 | Â | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | Â | |
17:28 | Â | Shakeel Moore defensive rebound | Â | |
17:16 | +2 | Jimmy Bell Jr. makes two point layup (D.J. Jeffries assists) | 4-0 | |
16:43 | Â | Stephen Clark turnover (lost ball) (Cameron Matthews steals) | Â | |
16:29 | Â | Shakeel Moore misses three point jump shot | Â | |
16:27 | Â | Myles Stute defensive rebound | Â | |
16:13 | Â | Shakeel Moore shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul) | Â | |
16:13 | Â | Meechie Johnson misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | Â | |
16:13 | +1 | Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-1 | |
15:48 | Â | Tolu Smith III misses two point layup | Â | |
15:46 | Â | Shawn Jones Jr. offensive rebound | Â | |
15:40 | Â | Josh Gray blocks Shawn Jones Jr.'s two point layup | Â | |
15:38 | Â | Myles Stute defensive rebound | Â | |
15:33 | Â | Collin Murray-Boyles turnover (lost ball) (Cameron Matthews steals) | Â | |
15:26 | +2 | Shakeel Moore makes two point dunk | 6-1 | |
15:03 | Â | Shawn Jones Jr. personal foul (Myles Stute draws the foul) | Â | |
15:03 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
15:03 | Â | Gamecocks 30 second timeout | Â | |
15:01 | +2 | Myles Stute makes two point dunk (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 6-3 | |
14:31 | Â | Cameron Matthews turnover (out of bounds) | Â | |
14:15 | Â | Ta'Lon Cooper misses two point jump shot | Â | |
14:13 | Â | Dashawn Davis defensive rebound | Â | |
14:06 | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point jump shot | 8-3 | |
13:50 | Â | Myles Stute turnover (bad pass) (Cameron Matthews steals) | Â | |
13:41 | Â | Josh Gray personal foul | Â | |
13:32 | +2 | Tolu Smith III makes two point layup (Shawn Jones Jr. assists) | 10-3 | |
13:32 | Â | Josh Gray shooting foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul) | Â | |
13:32 | +1 | Tolu Smith III makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 11-3 | |
13:15 | Â | B.J. Mack misses two point jump shot | Â | |
13:13 | Â | Tolu Smith III defensive rebound | Â | |
12:58 | Â | Myles Stute blocks Tolu Smith III's two point layup | Â | |
12:56 | Â | Myles Stute defensive rebound | Â | |
12:56 | Â | Cameron Matthews personal foul | Â | |
12:33 | Â | Zachary Davis turnover (bad pass) (Shawn Jones Jr. steals) | Â | |
12:31 | Â | Jump ball. Myles Stute vs. Tolu Smith III (Bulldogs gains possession) | Â | |
12:12 | Â | Tolu Smith III turnover (traveling) | Â | |
11:53 | +3 | Jacobi Wright makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 11-6 | |
11:14 | Â | D.J. Jeffries turnover (lost ball) (B.J. Mack steals) | Â | |
11:14 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
10:48 | Â | Myles Stute misses three point jump shot | Â | |
10:44 | Â | Bulldogs defensive rebound | Â | |
10:35 | +3 | Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Dashawn Davis assists) | 14-6 | |
10:11 | +3 | Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists) | 14-9 | |
9:50 | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point layup (D.J. Jeffries assists) | 16-9 | |
9:26 | +3 | Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot | 16-12 | |
9:10 | +2 | D.J. Jeffries makes two point dunk | 18-12 | |
8:56 | Â | Meechie Johnson turnover (bad pass) (Tolu Smith III steals) | Â | |
8:47 | Â | Shawn Jones Jr. turnover (bad pass) | Â | |
8:23 | Â | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
8:21 | Â | Dashawn Davis defensive rebound | Â | |
8:13 | Â | Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot | Â | |
8:08 | Â | Gamecocks defensive rebound | Â | |
8:08 | Â | Jimmy Bell Jr. personal foul | Â | |
7:44 | Â | B.J. Mack misses two point jump shot | Â | |
7:42 | Â | B.J. Mack offensive rebound | Â | |
7:41 | Â | Josh Hubbard personal foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul) | Â | |
7:41 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
7:41 | +1 | B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 18-13 | |
7:41 | +1 | B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-14 | |
7:27 | Â | Josh Hubbard offensive foul | Â | |
7:27 | Â | Josh Hubbard turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
7:07 | +2 | Zachary Davis makes two point layup (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 18-16 | |
6:41 | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point layup | 20-16 | |
6:19 | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot | 20-18 | |
6:00 | Â | B.J. Mack blocks Dashawn Davis's two point layup | Â | |
5:58 | Â | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | Â | |
5:49 | Â | Morris Ugusuk misses three point jump shot | Â | |
5:47 | Â | Cameron Matthews defensive rebound | Â | |
5:39 | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point layup | 22-18 | |
5:19 | Â | Cameron Matthews personal foul (Collin Murray-Boyles draws the foul) | Â | |
5:19 | +1 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-19 | |
5:19 | +1 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 22-20 | |
4:58 | Â | Jimmy Bell Jr. misses two point layup | Â | |
4:56 | Â | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | Â | |
4:47 | Â | Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:44 | Â | Gamecocks offensive rebound | Â | |
4:40 | Â | Myles Stute misses three point jump shot | Â | |
4:39 | Â | Bulldogs defensive rebound | Â | |
4:39 | Â | Josh Gray personal foul | Â | |
4:18 | Â | Stephen Clark personal foul | Â | |
4:09 | +2 | KeShawn Murphy makes two point layup | 24-20 | |
3:43 | +3 | Zachary Davis makes three point jump shot | 24-23 | |
3:24 | Â | D.J. Jeffries misses two point jump shot | Â | |
3:22 | Â | Tolu Smith III offensive rebound | Â | |
3:17 | +2 | Tolu Smith III makes two point layup | 26-23 | |
2:49 | Â | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | Â | |
2:47 | Â | Myles Stute offensive rebound | Â | |
2:43 | Â | Tolu Smith III shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul) | Â | |
2:43 | Â | TV timeout | Â | |
2:43 | +1 | Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-24 | |
2:43 | +1 | Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-25 | |
2:27 | Â | Tolu Smith III offensive foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul) | Â | |
2:27 | Â | Tolu Smith III turnover (offensive foul) | Â | |
2:14 | Â | Myles Stute misses two point layup | Â | |
2:12 | Â | Dashawn Davis defensive rebound | Â | |
2:09 | Â | B.J. Mack personal foul (Jimmy Bell Jr. draws the foul) | Â | |
1:58 | Â | Dashawn Davis misses two point jump shot | Â | |
1:56 | Â | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | Â | |
1:48 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point layup | 26-27 | |
1:39 | Â | Bulldogs 30 second timeout | Â | |
1:27 | +2 | KeShawn Murphy makes two point layup (Shakeel Moore assists) | 28-27 | |
0:57 | +3 | Myles Stute makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 28-30 | |
0:41 | Â | D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot | Â | |
0:39 | Â | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | Â | |
0:16 | Â | Meechie Johnson misses two point jump shot | Â | |
0:14 | Â | Dashawn Davis defensive rebound | Â | |
0:00 | Â | Dashawn Davis misses two point jump shot | Â | |
0:00 | Â | Gamecocks defensive rebound | Â | |
0:00 | Â | End of period | Â |