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No. 17 South Carolina beats Mississippi St 93-89 in OT to finish impressive regular season

AP
Mar 09, 2024

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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1st Half
SCAR
Gamecocks
38
MSST
Bulldogs
37

Time		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

2nd Half
SCAR
Gamecocks
39
MSST
Bulldogs
40

Time		Play	Score
19:35		B.J. Mack turnover (lost ball) (Dashawn Davis steals)
19:21		Collin Murray-Boyles personal foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul)
19:12		Dashawn Davis turnover (lost ball) (Ta'Lon Cooper steals)
18:54		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
18:52		Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
18:44	+3	Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Cameron Matthews assists)	38-40
18:27	+3	Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (Collin Murray-Boyles assists)	41-40
18:09		Dashawn Davis turnover (bad pass) (Collin Murray-Boyles steals)
18:03		D.J. Jeffries blocks Ta'Lon Cooper's two point layup
18:01		Zachary Davis offensive rebound
18:01		Tolu Smith III shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul)
18:01		Zachary Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 2
18:01	+1	Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	42-40
17:37		D.J. Jeffries misses two point jump shot
17:35		Zachary Davis defensive rebound
17:21	+2	Meechie Johnson makes two point layup (Collin Murray-Boyles assists)	44-40
16:54		Josh Hubbard misses two point layup
16:52		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
16:48	+2	Cameron Matthews makes two point layup	44-42
16:31	+3	Zachary Davis makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	47-42
16:15	+2	Cameron Matthews makes two point driving layup	47-44
15:57	+3	Ta'Lon Cooper makes three point jump shot (Collin Murray-Boyles assists)	50-44
15:36		Ta'Lon Cooper shooting foul (Dashawn Davis draws the foul)
15:36		TV timeout
15:36		Dashawn Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 2
15:36	+1	Dashawn Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	50-45
15:21		Dashawn Davis shooting foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
15:21	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	51-45
15:21	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	52-45
15:11	+2	Dashawn Davis makes two point driving layup	52-47
15:09		Josh Gray shooting foul (Dashawn Davis draws the foul)
15:09		Dashawn Davis misses regular free throw 1 of 1
15:09		Ebrima Dibba defensive rebound
14:53		Cameron Matthews blocks Meechie Johnson's two point layup
14:51		Gamecocks offensive rebound
14:41		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
14:39		Shakeel Moore defensive rebound
14:29	+2	Tolu Smith III makes two point layup (Shakeel Moore assists)	52-49
14:04		Jacobi Wright misses two point jump shot
14:02		Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
13:34		Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot
13:32		D.J. Jeffries offensive rebound
13:29		D.J. Jeffries misses two point layup
13:27		B.J. Mack defensive rebound
13:16		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
13:14		Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
13:09	+2	D.J. Jeffries makes two point layup (Cameron Matthews assists)	52-51
13:09		Myles Stute shooting foul (D.J. Jeffries draws the foul)
13:09	+1	D.J. Jeffries makes regular free throw 1 of 1	52-52
12:51	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point layup (Jacobi Wright assists)	54-52
12:35		Cameron Matthews turnover (lost ball)
12:31		Ta'Lon Cooper misses two point layup
12:31		Jacobi Wright offensive rebound
12:31	+2	Jacobi Wright makes two point layup	56-52
12:31		Josh Hubbard shooting foul (Jacobi Wright draws the foul)
12:31	+1	Jacobi Wright makes regular free throw 1 of 1	57-52
12:17		B.J. Mack personal foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul)
12:09	+3	Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Tolu Smith III assists)	57-55
11:42	+2	Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup	59-55
11:29		Josh Hubbard turnover (lost ball) (Collin Murray-Boyles steals)
11:15		Ebrima Dibba misses two point layup
11:13		Tolu Smith III defensive rebound
11:04	+2	Cameron Matthews makes two point jump shot	59-57
10:43	+2	Ta'Lon Cooper makes two point layup	61-57
10:39		Jacobi Wright personal foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul)
10:39		TV timeout
10:30		Shakeel Moore misses two point layup
10:28		Tolu Smith III offensive rebound
10:24	+2	Tolu Smith III makes two point layup	61-59
10:10	+3	B.J. Mack makes three point jump shot (Meechie Johnson assists)	64-59
9:48		Shakeel Moore offensive foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
9:48		Shakeel Moore turnover (offensive foul)
9:22		Collin Murray-Boyles misses two point hook shot
9:20		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
9:11		Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot
9:09		Bulldogs offensive rebound
9:03		D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot
9:01		Zachary Davis defensive rebound
8:52	+2	Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Meechie Johnson assists)	66-59
8:45		Bulldogs 30 second timeout
8:45		TV timeout
8:27		Cameron Matthews turnover (bad pass) (Ta'Lon Cooper steals)
8:03		B.J. Mack turnover (traveling)
7:44		Tolu Smith III misses two point layup
7:42		Cameron Matthews offensive rebound
7:41		B.J. Mack blocks Cameron Matthews's two point layup
7:39		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
7:30		Meechie Johnson misses two point layup
7:28		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
7:22	+2	Tolu Smith III makes two point layup (Shawn Jones Jr. assists)	66-61
6:55		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
6:53		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
6:45		TV timeout
6:39	+2	Tolu Smith III makes two point layup	66-63
6:08		Myles Stute misses three point jump shot
6:06		Tolu Smith III defensive rebound
5:51		Josh Gray shooting foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul)
5:51	+1	Tolu Smith III makes regular free throw 1 of 2	66-64
5:51		Tolu Smith III misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:51		Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound
5:34		Myles Stute misses two point jump shot
5:32		D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound
5:19		Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot
5:17		Myles Stute defensive rebound
5:04	+2	Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point jump shot (Jacobi Wright assists)	68-64
4:47		Dashawn Davis misses two point jump shot
4:45		Collin Murray-Boyles defensive rebound
4:33		Jacobi Wright misses three point jump shot
4:31		Gamecocks offensive rebound
4:16	+2	Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Zachary Davis assists)	70-64
4:02	+3	Dashawn Davis makes three point jump shot (Josh Hubbard assists)	70-67
3:35		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
3:33		Tolu Smith III defensive rebound
3:13	+3	Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Dashawn Davis assists)	70-70
2:40		Ta'Lon Cooper misses three point jump shot
2:38		Cameron Matthews defensive rebound
2:19		Shakeel Moore misses three point jump shot
2:17		Bulldogs offensive rebound
2:16		TV timeout
1:59		B.J. Mack blocks Tolu Smith III's two point layup
1:57		Tolu Smith III offensive rebound
1:56		Dashawn Davis turnover (bad pass) (Collin Murray-Boyles steals)
1:30	+2	Zachary Davis makes two point dunk	72-70
1:30		D.J. Jeffries shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul)
1:30	+1	Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 1	73-70
1:15	+3	D.J. Jeffries makes three point jump shot (Cameron Matthews assists)	73-73
0:44		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
0:44		Collin Murray-Boyles offensive rebound
0:44	+2	Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point putback layup	75-73
0:44		Gamecocks 60 second timeout
0:33	+2	Josh Hubbard makes two point jump shot	75-75
0:32		Bulldogs 60 second timeout
0:04		Tolu Smith III shooting foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul)
0:04	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 2	76-75
0:04	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 2 of 2	77-75
0:04		Bulldogs 30 second timeout
0:04		Gamecocks 30 second timeout
0:01		Jacobi Wright personal foul (Dashawn Davis draws the foul)
0:01	+1	Dashawn Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	77-76
0:01	+1	Dashawn Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	77-77
0:01		Gamecocks 30 second timeout
0:01		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
0:00		Bulldogs defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

OT
SCAR
Gamecocks
16
MSST
Bulldogs
12

Time		Play	Score
5:00		Collin Murray-Boyles vs. Tolu Smith III (B.J. Mack gains possession)
4:32	+3	Meechie Johnson makes three point jump shot (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	80-77
4:16		Meechie Johnson personal foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul)
4:16	+1	Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 1 of 2	80-78
4:16	+1	Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 2 of 2	80-79
3:45	+2	Collin Murray-Boyles makes two point layup (Ta'Lon Cooper assists)	82-79
3:34	+2	Cameron Matthews makes two point running jump shot	82-81
3:07		Cameron Matthews shooting foul (Zachary Davis draws the foul)
3:07	+1	Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	83-81
3:07	+1	Zachary Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	84-81
2:49	+2	Josh Hubbard makes two point driving layup	84-83
2:20	+3	B.J. Mack makes three point jump shot (Meechie Johnson assists)	87-83
1:54		Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot
1:52		Tolu Smith III offensive rebound
1:48	+2	Tolu Smith III makes two point putback layup	87-85
1:20		Meechie Johnson misses three point jump shot
1:18		Tolu Smith III defensive rebound
1:01		B.J. Mack personal foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul)
1:01	+1	Tolu Smith III makes regular free throw 1 of 2	87-86
1:01		Tolu Smith III misses regular free throw 2 of 2
1:01		Gamecocks defensive rebound
0:32	+2	B.J. Mack makes two point jump shot	89-86
0:29		Gamecocks 30 second timeout
0:29		TV timeout
0:20		Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot
0:18		Tolu Smith III offensive rebound
0:11		Zachary Davis shooting foul (Josh Hubbard draws the foul)
0:11	+1	Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 1 of 3	89-87
0:11	+1	Josh Hubbard makes regular free throw 2 of 3	89-88
0:11		Josh Hubbard misses regular free throw 3 of 3
0:11		B.J. Mack defensive rebound
0:10		Cameron Matthews personal foul (B.J. Mack draws the foul)
0:10	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 1 of 2	90-88
0:10		Bulldogs 30 second timeout
0:10	+1	B.J. Mack makes regular free throw 2 of 2	91-88
0:07		Jacobi Wright personal foul (D.J. Jeffries draws the foul)
0:07		D.J. Jeffries misses regular free throw 1 of 2
0:07	+1	D.J. Jeffries makes regular free throw 2 of 2	91-89
0:05		Cameron Matthews personal foul (Meechie Johnson draws the foul)
0:05	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	92-89
0:05	+1	Meechie Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	93-89
0:03		Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot
0:01		Meechie Johnson defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

Meechie Johnson defensive rebound