South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks End Losing Streak, Knock Off Ole Miss

Coming into Saturday’s contest in Oxford, South Carolina basketball’s eight-game losing streak seemed as if it may be ending soon. The Gamecocks had put together two solid performances in their last two times out against Arkansas and Missouri. However, a bad start against the Rebels put the garnet and black squad behind the eight ball early. Ole Miss led 8-1 after just two minutes of play.

Head Coach Lamont Paris’ team thought they had reversed their fortunes as Hayden Brown hit two quick threes, but the Rebels continued their offensive assault until they had stretched the lead to 14-7. Poor offensive execution from both sides slowed the scoring down, and the score stood 21-12 at the midpoint of the half. South Carolina then made a couple of quick jumpers to kickstart a 10-3 run to put the Gamecocks back in the game. Both teams employed a 1-3-1 zone for the rest of the half as things remained pretty back-and-forth, with Ole Miss generally maintaining a slight lead.

The two teams’ three-point shooting and their high number of free throw attempts inflated the scoring on what was not a great offensive half of basketball. Kermit Davis’ Ole Miss squad averages only six made threes per contest, but they made four in the first nine minutes of the game (and six in the first half). The Gamecocks matched them with six three-point jumpers of their own. South Carolina added seven made free throws in ten attempts during the half, and the Rebels made eight of ten from the charity stripe.

One of the keys to South Carolina’s chances of winning was to win the rebound battle. At the half, Ole Miss led the Gamecocks 16 to 20 on the boards, but USC won the battle in the second half, setting themselves up for a chance to pull off the road victory. Jacobi Wright and Chico Carter capitalized with two made perimeter jumpers that each came off of offensive rebounds. The size advantage down low for the Gamecocks was finally paying dividends. Hayden Brown gave the Gamecocks their first lead of the game at 44-42.

A clear storyline began developing during the second half. Star freshman GG Jackson didn’t play much during the first half, and he did not see the court until almost the halfway point of the second half. After being removed after a less than one-minute stint of action in the first half, Jackson mildly expressed frustration at being benched. Lamont Paris responded by continuing the benching. Upon entering the game in the second period, Jackson remained relatively anonymous as his usual aggressive style of play was not present. He played twelve total minutes.

The game remained close as each team missed a ton of shots and turned the ball over more than they’d like to after they both held onto the ball well in the first half. Hayden Brown (18 points) and Jacobi Wright (career-high 17 points) led the way for the Gamecocks, and Tye Fagan was the Rebels’ best offensive player, contributing 15 points (eight coming from the line). The game was decided during the last few minutes, as the Gamecocks outscored the home team by seven over the last three minutes of the game. Meechie Johnson was a non-factor in the second half until 1:19 was left on the game clock, but he had a crucial and-one conversion and a drive and kick that resulted in a Jacobi Wright three-pointer. He also iced the game with three free throws in the last fifteen seconds of regulation. Those nine points were the difference as Lamont Paris’ team finally ended their woeful losing streak.

The South Carolina basketball team will return home to Columbia, South Carolina looking to start a winning streak on Tuesday to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.