South Carolina Basketball: Gamecock start SEC play 1-0 after big home win over good Mississippi State team

South Carolina Basketball vs. Mississippi State
Stats, Scoring, and Observations

South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris and his team are 1-0 in the SEC after a huge win to open conference play. The 13-1 Gamecocks have a tough road ahead of them, but starting league play with a victory was a big step for USC.

Here are the stats from the game:

STATS

Mississippi State

Points

Leader: Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith with 13 each

Rebounds

Leader: Cameron Matthews and Dashawn Davis with 5 each

Assists

Leader: DJ Jeffries with 3

Steals

Leader: Cameron Matthews with 4

Blocks

Leader: 4 players with 1 each

Other

The Bulldogs had 34 points in the paint but only made 3 3-pointers in the entire game.

South Carolina

Points

Leader: Meechie Johnson with 24

Rebounds

Leader: 3 players tied with 6

Assists

Leader: Ta’Lon Cooper with 7

Steals

Leader: Three players tied with 1

Blocks

Leader: BJ Mack with 2

Other

The Gamecocks overcame a 1-15 for 9 points effort from starters Ta'Lon Cooper, BJ Mack, and Stephen Clark to win; Carolina made 5 more 3-pointers and 9 more free throws than Mississippi State; USC also won the rebounding battle 35-26

BOX SCORE

OBSERVATIONS

• Starters: Ta’Lon Cooper-Meechie Johnson-Myles Stute-BJ Mack-Stephen Clark
• Tolu Smith did not start for Mississippi State, but he did play.
• The Gamecock got bullied down low early, and Coach Paris inserted Josh Gray and Collin Murray-Boyles.
• The combination of those two coming into the game and the wakeup call for Stephen Clark and BJ Mack worked wonders as South Carolina turned things around in the paint.
• The Gamecocks made 8 3-pointers in the first 25 minutes of the game compared to just two for MSU at the same point.
• Myles Stute scored 13 in a row from the end of the 1st half through the start of the 2nd.
• Despite giving up over 50% shooting to the Bulldogs in the 1st 20 minutes, Carolina led by 2 at halftime because of their advantage from the outside and the free throw line.
• The 2nd half was controlled by the Gamecocks. Mississippi State never went away, but USC held the lead the entire way.
• Meechie Johnson and Myles Stute each had stretches in which they took over the game.
• The foul trouble for MSU (23 team fouls) was a major factor and allowed the Gamecocks to shoot 26 free throws.