No. 17 South Carolina beats Mississippi St 93-89 in OT to finish impressive regular season
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) B.J. Mack had 25 points and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 19 to lead No. 17 South Carolina to a 93-89 overtime victory against Mississippi State on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (25-6, 13-5 Southeastern Conference) finished off the regular season with one of the best turnarounds in college basketball. They were 4-14 in the conference and 11-21 overall a year ago.
“They told me this was the most regular-season wins in school history,” coach Lamont Paris said. “We finished tied for second place and there is a lot of pride in this group. We played with a chip on our shoulders all season and one day they are going to say these guys are good. Maybe they will say it today and I am just so proud of these guys.”
Mack had seven points in overtime for South Carolina, which improved to 2-0 this season in overtime games. Meechie Johnson had 16 points.
Freshman Josh Hubbard had 28 points for the Bulldogs (19-12, 8-10), who dropped their fourth straight game. Cameron Matthews had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Mississippi State. Dashawn Davis added 16 points and Tolu Smith had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
In the closing seconds of regulation, Hubbard sank two free throws to tie the game at 75. Mack responded with two free throws of his own to give the Gamecocks a 77-75 advantage with 4.2 seconds remaining. Davis would make two free throws as well with 1.4 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
For the third straight game, Mississippi State had a slow start. South Carolina took a 17-8 lead after a Myles Stute 3-pointer with 12:48 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs kept chipping away and would tie the game at 27 with 5:14 left in the opening half. South Carolina eventually took a 38-37 advantage at halftime.
“The last three games have all been similar in the way they’ve unfolded from our perspective,” said Mississippi State coach Chris Jans. “Auburn, (Texas) A&M and tonight against South Carolina, the difference in the margin throughout the game wasn’t as big but that theme of playing from behind and just fighting uphill all night long was the same.”
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks are riding high heading into the SEC Tournament and then March Madness.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs must now regroup for the conference tournament with their postseason hopes on the line.
UP NEXT
South Carolina: The Gamecocks open conference tournament play in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs face LSU on Thursday in the tournament.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | (Bulldogs gains possession) | ||
| 19:32 | | Tolu Smith III misses two point layup | ||
| 19:30 |  | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | ||
| 19:04 | | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup | 2-0 |
| 18:53 | | Cameron Matthews misses two point layup | ||
| 18:51 | | Cameron Matthews offensive rebound | ||
| 18:49 | | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point layup | 2-2 |
| 18:35 | | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 4-2 |
| 18:07 | | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point dunk (Josh Hubbard assists) | 4-4 |
| 17:41 | | +3 | Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (B.J. Mack assists) | 7-4 |
| 17:24 | | Cameron Matthews turnover (lost ball) (Collin Murray-Boyles steals) | ||
| 17:14 | | Meechie Johnson misses two point layup | ||
| 17:12 | | Josh Hubbard defensive rebound | ||
| 17:08 | | Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:06 | | Tolu Smith III offensive rebound | ||
| 16:58 | | Meechie Johnson personal foul | ||
| 16:55 | | Josh Hubbard misses two point layup | ||
| 16:53 | | Cameron Matthews offensive rebound | ||
| 16:51 | | Cameron Matthews misses two point layup | ||
| 16:49 | | Zachary Davis defensive rebound | ||
| 16:25 | | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:23 | | D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound | ||
| 16:08 | | Josh Hubbard turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 15:58 | | Ta'Lon Cooper misses two point layup | ||
| 15:56 | | Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound | ||
| 15:54 | | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup | 9-4 |
| 15:54 | | Tolu Smith III shooting foul (Collin Murray-Boyles draws the foul) | ||
| 15:54 | | TV timeout | ||
| 15:54 | | +1 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 10-4 |
| 15:39 | | Josh Gray blocks Tolu Smith III's two point layup | ||
| 15:37 | | D.J. Jeffries offensive rebound | ||
| 15:16 | | Ta'Lon Cooper shooting foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul) | ||
| 15:16 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-5 |
| 15:16 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 10-6 |
| 14:51 | | +2 | Josh Gray makes two point layup | 12-6 |
| 14:24 | | Cameron Matthews misses two point jump shot | ||
| 14:22 | | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | ||
| 14:03 | | +2 | Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 14-6 |
| 13:47 | | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point layup | 14-8 |
| 13:15 | | Meechie Johnson misses two point jump shot | ||
| 13:13 | | Josh Gray offensive rebound | ||
| 13:11 | | Josh Gray misses two point layup | ||
| 13:09 | | Cameron Matthews defensive rebound | ||
| 13:02 | | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | ||
| 13:00 | | Ebrima Dibba defensive rebound | ||
| 12:50 | | +3 | Myles Stute makes three point jump shot (Ebrima Dibba assists) | 17-8 |
| 12:35 | | Josh Gray shooting foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul) | ||
| 12:35 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 17-9 |
| 12:35 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 17-10 |
| 12:22 | | Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot | ||
| 12:20 | | Jimmy Bell Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 12:06 | | +2 | Jimmy Bell Jr. makes two point dunk (Shakeel Moore assists) | 17-12 |
| 11:38 | | Shawn Jones Jr. personal foul | ||
| 11:38 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:32 | | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:30 | | Myles Stute offensive rebound | ||
| 11:25 | | Jimmy Bell Jr. shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul) | ||
| 11:25 | | Meechie Johnson misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 11:25 | | Gamecocks offensive rebound | ||
| 11:25 | | +1 | Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 18-12 |
| 11:13 | | +2 | Shakeel Moore makes two point layup | 18-14 |
| 10:55 | | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point layup (Zachary Davis assists) | 20-14 |
| 10:55 | | KeShawn Murphy shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul) | ||
| 10:55 | | +1 | B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 21-14 |
| 10:43 | | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point jump shot | 21-16 |
| 10:29 | | Cameron Matthews blocks Zachary Davis's two point jump shot | ||
| 10:27 | | Shakeel Moore defensive rebound | ||
| 10:16 | | Meechie Johnson personal foul | ||
| 10:11 | | Collin Murray-Boyles personal foul | ||
| 10:06 | | Zachary Davis personal foul | ||
| 10:01 | | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point layup (Tolu Smith III assists) | 21-18 |
| 9:40 | | +2 | Ta'Lon Cooper makes two point layup | 23-18 |
| 9:30 | | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:28 | | Cameron Matthews offensive rebound | ||
| 9:24 | | Cameron Matthews turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 9:07 | | Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:05 | | Josh Gray offensive rebound | ||
| 8:54 | | +2 | Zachary Davis makes two point jump shot | 25-18 |
| 8:54 | | Shakeel Moore shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul) | ||
| 8:54 | | Zachary Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 8:54 | | Josh Hubbard defensive rebound | ||
| 8:26 | | Cameron Matthews misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:24 | | Gamecocks defensive rebound | ||
| 7:59 | | Morris Ugusuk turnover (lost ball) (Tolu Smith III steals) | ||
| 7:45 | | Josh Gray shooting foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul) | ||
| 7:45 | | TV timeout | ||
| 7:45 | | +1 | Tolu Smith III makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-19 |
| 7:45 | | +1 | Tolu Smith III makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-20 |
| 7:23 | | Josh Gray turnover (lost ball) (D.J. Jeffries steals) | ||
| 7:07 | | +2 | D.J. Jeffries makes two point layup | 25-22 |
| 6:42 | | Josh Gray turnover (lost ball) (D.J. Jeffries steals) | ||
| 6:32 | | Cameron Matthews turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 6:19 | | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 27-22 |
| 5:59 | | Tolu Smith III misses two point layup | ||
| 5:57 | | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | ||
| 5:48 | | Myles Stute misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:46 | | D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound | ||
| 5:37 | | +3 | Dashawn Davis makes three point jump shot (D.J. Jeffries assists) | 27-25 |
| 5:19 | | B.J. Mack turnover (lost ball) (Cameron Matthews steals) | ||
| 5:13 | | Collin Murray-Boyles shooting foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul) | ||
| 5:13 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-26 |
| 5:13 | | +1 | Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-27 |
| 4:53 | | Jacobi Wright turnover (bad pass) (Josh Hubbard steals) | ||
| 4:48 | | Collin Murray-Boyles blocks Josh Hubbard's two point layup | ||
| 4:46 | | Bulldogs offensive rebound | ||
| 4:34 | | D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:32 | | Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound | ||
| 4:21 | | +2 | B.J. Mack makes two point layup | 29-27 |
| 4:21 | | Josh Hubbard shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul) | ||
| 4:21 | | B.J. Mack misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | ||
| 4:21 | | Gamecocks offensive rebound | ||
| 4:03 | | Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:01 | | Jacobi Wright offensive rebound | ||
| 4:00 | | D.J. Jeffries blocks Jacobi Wright's two point layup | ||
| 3:58 | | Gamecocks offensive rebound | ||
| 3:57 | | TV timeout | ||
| 3:45 | | B.J. Mack misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:43 | | Jacobi Wright offensive rebound | ||
| 3:20 | | Jimmy Bell Jr. shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul) | ||
| 3:20 | | +1 | B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 30-27 |
| 3:20 | | +1 | B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-27 |
| 2:59 | | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:57 | | Dashawn Davis offensive rebound | ||
| 2:54 | | +3 | Dashawn Davis makes three point jump shot | 31-30 |
| 2:24 | | +2 | Zachary Davis makes two point layup (Collin Murray-Boyles assists) | 33-30 |
| 1:59 | | Josh Gray blocks Tolu Smith III's two point layup | ||
| 1:57 | | Ta'Lon Cooper defensive rebound | ||
| 1:41 | | D.J. Jeffries shooting foul (Josh Gray draws the foul) | ||
| 1:41 | | +1 | Josh Gray makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 34-30 |
| 1:41 | | +1 | Josh Gray makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 35-30 |
| 1:33 | | D.J. Jeffries offensive foul | ||
| 1:33 | | D.J. Jeffries turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 1:21 | | Ta'Lon Cooper misses two point layup | ||
| 1:19 | | Tolu Smith III defensive rebound | ||
| 1:10 | | +3 | Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Cameron Matthews assists) | 35-33 |
| 0:47 | | +3 | Myles Stute makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists) | 38-33 |
| 0:31 | | +2 | Dashawn Davis makes two point jump shot | 38-35 |
| 0:15 | | Zachary Davis turnover (bad pass) (Shawn Jones Jr. steals) | ||
| 0:08 | | +2 | Cameron Matthews makes two point layup | 38-37 |
| 0:02 | | Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:01 | | Cameron Matthews defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |