With 16 minutes left in the second half, South Carolina star forward Collin Murray-Boyles picked up his fourth foul, putting him on the bench for a little while and forcing South Carolina to play without their leading scorer.
South Carolina and No. 25 Clemson put together a show-stopping performance on Tuesday night, giving fans exactly what they would want out of a rivalry matchup. With finals over and students off campus, Colonial Life Arena was still rocking with a full student section and a packed crowd with some familiar faces, such as women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley and head football coach Shane Beamer and his son in attendance.
South Carolina jumped to an early 24-10 lead, making it seem like the Gamecocks were going to run away with the game early. However, the storyline of the first half was all about runs. South Carolina had a 10-0 run towards the beginning of the game to give them such a big lead, but then Clemson stormed back with a 14-0 lead to tie the game at 24. The Gamecocks responded with another 10-0 run and finished the half on a 10-2 run and a 34-26 halftime lead.
Foul trouble was something both teams had to deal with, especially for their star players. As mentioned earlier, Murray-Boyles went into the second half with three fouls and was well below his game average of points. Shortly into the half, the sophomore forward picked up his fourth foul, putting him on the bench for what everyone figured would be for a lot longer than it was. However, head coach Lamont Paris had other plans.
Murray-Boyles was off the bench after a few minutes, and the forward had to be very smart on both sides of the ball so as not to commit another foul. When he came back into the game, he truly was the spark the Gamecocks needed.
The projected first-round NBA prospect became a problem for the Clemson defense, forcing their best players into foul trouble as well. The best play Murray-Boyles made all night wasn't a monster dunk or even a layup, but late in the game, when South Carolina needed a bucket to extend their lead, he could feel the double team come and instead of forcing a shot, chose to make a pass that resulted in a big-time three-pointer.
The game got even more interesting. South Carolina, who struggled from the free-throw line, missed a freebie that would have given them a four-point lead. Clemson reeled in the rebound and Chase Hunter, who led the Tigers with 27 points on the night, threw up a Hail Mary shot and banked it in leaving just 0.3 seconds on the clock.
That shot inevitably sent the game into overtime, so even more elite basketball to be played. In the end, South Carolina was able to fend off every attack Clemson had and walked away with a 91-88 win, which marks their first ranked win of the season.
The Gamecocks will have just two more non-conference games before they enter a grueling SEC schedule with quite a number of ranked matchups.