Murray-Boyles, No. 15 South Carolina pull away in second half for 75-60 victory over Vanderbilt
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolina coach Lamont Paris doesn't spend much time reveling in midseason accomplishments, even when his team is one of biggest surprises of the college basketball season.
Collin Boyles-Murray scored a career-high 31 points and the 15th-ranked Gamecocks (21-3, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) ran past Vanderbilt in the second half of a 75-60 victory - their 21st of the season after losing 21 games a year ago.
Paris said he's improved at celebrating achievements. “You've seen me dancing and stuff,” he joked.
“It's hard as a coach to spend much time at all thinking about achievements until they tell you to hang the uniforms up,” he said. “Then you look back and say, ‘Maybe that was really good.’"
And it's one that only looks to get better for a program picked last this fall in the SEC.
The Gamecocks have won seven straight and remain tied with No. 16 Alabama for first in the SEC. “We're proving a lot of people wrong,” Murray-Boyles said.
Murray-Boyles, the 6-foot-7 freshman, scored 12 of his points in a 24-10 second-half surge. He also had a monster block that brought the crowd to its feet.
Murray-Boyles chased down Vanderbilt guard Ezra Manjon, who had what looked like an open lane to the basket early in the second half. But Murray-Boyles pinned the shot against the backboard as the crowd went crazy.
“I felt all the energy from all" at the Colonial Life Arena, Murray-Boyles said of the ovation. “I appreciate every single bit of it.”
The Commodores (6-17, 1-9) entered the game in the bottom of the league in points per game and field-goal percentage.
But Vanderbilt used a patient approach to South Carolina's suffocating defense that got the better of Kentucky and Tennessee in the past three weeks. The Commodores often let the shot clock get inside of five seconds before finding a makeable shot.
Tyrin Lawrence had seven points, including an all-alone layup under the basket off an inbounds play, as Vanderbilt closed the half with a 14-6 run to lead 32-28 at the break before South Carolina took over.
“We were a step slow in the second half,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said.
Murray-Boyles made 14 of 17 shots, his last one a rim-rattling dunk in the final minute. B.J. Mack hit five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points for the Gamecocks.
Lawrence led Vanderbilt with 15 points.
THE BIG PICTURE
Vanderbilt: The Commodores fell behind when their shots didn't fall after halftime. Vanderbilt shot close to 50% in the opening half but was just 6 of 16 (37.5 %) in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks already have improved by 10 victories in coach Lamont Paris’ first season from their 11-21 mark last season. They are ranked for the first time since 2017. What's next? How about an SEC title. The team picked last in the league in October is tied for the top spot with Alabama with a month left in the season.
TURNAROUND EXPERT
This is not the first time Paris has turned a losing program into a winner. He lost 20 games in his second season at Chattanooga before winning 20 in Year 3. It came a year quicker with the Gamecocks. “It's good, but we're on a mission,” Paris said.
UP NEXT
Vanderbilt returns home to play Texas A&M on Tuesday night.
South Carolina plays at No. 12 Auburn on Wednesday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | (Commodores gains possession) | |||
19:37 | +2 | Ezra Manjon makes two point jump shot | 2-0 | |
19:21 | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | |||
19:19 | Ezra Manjon defensive rebound | |||
19:11 | +3 | Evan Taylor makes three point jump shot (Tyrin Lawrence assists) | 5-0 | |
18:49 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point layup | 5-2 | |
18:17 | B.J. Mack shooting foul (Ven-Allen Lubin draws the foul) | |||
18:17 | Ven-Allen Lubin misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
18:17 | Ven-Allen Lubin misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
18:17 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
17:56 | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point layup (Zachary Davis assists) | 5-4 | |
17:56 | Malik Presley shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul) | |||
17:56 | +1 | B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 5-5 | |
17:36 | Malik Presley turnover (bad pass) | |||
17:17 | B.J. Mack misses two point jump shot | |||
17:15 | B.J. Mack offensive rebound | |||
17:12 | B.J. Mack misses two point layup | |||
17:10 | Commodores defensive rebound | |||
16:42 | +2 | Malik Presley makes two point jump shot | 7-5 | |
16:25 | Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot | |||
16:23 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
16:20 | Collin Murray-Boyles turnover (Malik Presley steals) | |||
16:08 | +2 | Ezra Manjon makes two point layup | 9-5 | |
15:48 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point jump shot (Meechie Johnson assists) | 9-7 | |
15:48 | Evan Taylor shooting foul (Collin Murray-Boyles draws the foul) | |||
15:48 | TV timeout | |||
15:48 | +1 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 9-8 | |
15:34 | Tyrin Lawrence misses two point layup | |||
15:32 | Commodores offensive rebound | |||
15:31 | Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot | |||
15:29 | Carter Lang offensive rebound | |||
15:07 | Ezra Manjon misses two point jump shot | |||
15:05 | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | |||
14:42 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point jump shot | 9-10 | |
14:25 | Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot | |||
14:23 | Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound | |||
14:22 | Malik Presley personal foul | |||
14:01 | Myles Stute misses three point jump shot | |||
13:59 | Gamecocks offensive rebound | |||
13:44 | +2 | Myles Stute makes two point jump shot | 9-12 | |
13:44 | Isaiah West shooting foul (Myles Stute draws the foul) | |||
13:44 | +1 | Myles Stute makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 9-13 | |
13:14 | +2 | JaQualon Roberts makes two point jump shot | 11-13 | |
13:02 | Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot | |||
13:01 | Commodores defensive rebound | |||
13:01 | Myles Stute personal foul | |||
12:31 | Commodores turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
12:14 | +3 | B.J. Mack makes three point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists) | 11-16 | |
11:58 | +2 | Paul Lewis makes two point jump shot | 13-16 | |
11:40 | TV timeout | |||
11:12 | Myles Stute misses three point jump shot | |||
11:10 | Ezra Manjon defensive rebound | |||
10:58 | +3 | Jordan Williams makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists) | 16-16 | |
10:44 | +2 | Meechie Johnson makes two point layup | 16-18 | |
10:26 | Paul Lewis misses two point jump shot | |||
10:24 | Gamecocks defensive rebound | |||
10:24 | Jordan Williams personal foul | |||
10:19 | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | |||
10:17 | Commodores defensive rebound | |||
9:43 | Paul Lewis misses two point jump shot | |||
9:41 | Zachary Davis defensive rebound | |||
9:34 | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
9:32 | Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound | |||
9:12 | Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot | |||
9:10 | JaQualon Roberts offensive rebound | |||
9:06 | Zachary Davis personal foul | |||
8:52 | +2 | Ezra Manjon makes two point jump shot | 18-18 | |
8:33 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 18-20 | |
8:09 | Ven-Allen Lubin misses two point jump shot | |||
8:07 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
7:52 | +2 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes two point layup (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 18-22 | |
7:33 | +2 | Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup | 20-22 | |
7:11 | Collin Murray-Boyles misses two point layup | |||
7:09 | Evan Taylor defensive rebound | |||
7:09 | Collin Murray-Boyles personal foul | |||
7:09 | TV timeout | |||
6:45 | Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot | |||
6:43 | Ven-Allen Lubin offensive rebound | |||
6:40 | +2 | Ven-Allen Lubin makes two point layup | 22-22 | |
6:21 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 22-24 | |
5:53 | Ta'Lon Cooper personal foul | |||
5:44 | +3 | Evan Taylor makes three point jump shot (Ezra Manjon assists) | 25-24 | |
5:23 | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
5:21 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
5:19 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup | 25-26 | |
4:52 | Josh Gray shooting foul (Ven-Allen Lubin draws the foul) | |||
4:52 | Ven-Allen Lubin misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
4:52 | +1 | Ven-Allen Lubin makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-26 | |
4:29 | Collin Murray-Boyles misses two point jump shot | |||
4:27 | Ven-Allen Lubin defensive rebound | |||
4:13 | Evan Taylor misses two point jump shot | |||
4:11 | Ven-Allen Lubin offensive rebound | |||
4:09 | Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot | |||
4:08 | Gamecocks defensive rebound | |||
4:08 | Ven-Allen Lubin personal foul | |||
3:54 | Josh Gray turnover | |||
3:54 | TV timeout | |||
3:25 | Evan Taylor misses three point jump shot | |||
3:23 | Evan Taylor offensive rebound | |||
3:18 | Ezra Manjon misses two point jump shot | |||
3:16 | Josh Gray defensive rebound | |||
3:07 | Zachary Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
3:05 | Tyrin Lawrence defensive rebound | |||
2:36 | Meechie Johnson shooting foul (Ezra Manjon draws the foul) | |||
2:36 | +1 | Ezra Manjon makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-26 | |
2:36 | Ezra Manjon misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
2:36 | Zachary Davis defensive rebound | |||
2:22 | Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot | |||
2:20 | Jordan Williams defensive rebound | |||
2:09 | Ezra Manjon misses two point layup | |||
2:07 | Carter Lang offensive rebound | |||
2:03 | Carter Lang turnover (Meechie Johnson steals) | |||
1:54 | Josh Gray turnover (Tyrin Lawrence steals) | |||
1:28 | +3 | Tyrin Lawrence makes three point jump shot (Carter Lang assists) | 30-26 | |
1:05 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 30-28 | |
0:33 | Tyrin Lawrence misses three point jump shot | |||
0:31 | Josh Gray defensive rebound | |||
0:31 | Jordan Williams personal foul | |||
0:31 | Josh Gray misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
0:31 | Evan Taylor defensive rebound | |||
0:16 | Commodores 30 second timeout | |||
0:07 | +2 | Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup (Carter Lang assists) | 32-28 | |
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
19:47 | +3 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes three point jump shot (Meechie Johnson assists) | 32-31 | |
19:25 | Evan Taylor misses three point jump shot | |||
19:23 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
19:14 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup | 32-33 | |
18:45 | Ezra Manjon misses three point jump shot | |||
18:43 | Malik Presley offensive rebound | |||
18:39 | Zachary Davis personal foul | |||
18:39 | Malik Presley misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
18:39 | Malik Presley misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
18:39 | B.J. Mack defensive rebound | |||
18:19 | +3 | B.J. Mack makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 32-36 | |
17:58 | +2 | Ven-Allen Lubin makes two point alley-oop dunk (Ezra Manjon assists) | 34-36 | |
17:42 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point jump shot (B.J. Mack assists) | 34-38 | |
17:42 | Ezra Manjon shooting foul (Collin Murray-Boyles draws the foul) | |||
17:42 | +1 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 34-39 | |
17:26 | +2 | Tyrin Lawrence makes two point layup | 36-39 | |
17:06 | +3 | B.J. Mack makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 36-42 | |
16:44 | Tyrin Lawrence misses two point jump shot | |||
16:42 | Meechie Johnson defensive rebound | |||
16:30 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point dunk | 36-44 | |
16:17 | +2 | Malik Presley makes two point layup | 38-44 | |
15:55 | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | |||
15:53 | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | |||
15:48 | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup | 38-46 | |
15:39 |