Carrera lifts Gamecocks past Mississippi State

Senior forward Michael Carrera got the South Carolina men’s basketball team back on track Tuesday night, scoring a career-high 34 points and matching a career-high with 15 rebounds to lead the way for a 84-74 win over Mississippi State. Carrera’s performance helped the Gamecocks overcome 18 turnovers and another poor performance at the free-throw line, making just 65.9 percent of their shots from the stripe.

The Gamecocks fell behind in the opening minutes, but once they got ahead, the team never relinquished the lead, holding as much as a 14-point advantage early in the second half. The Bulldogs gave head coach Frank Martin’s squad everything they could handle, making eight threes in the second half, but South Carolina seemed to have an answer for every Mississippi State run.

Junior guard Sindarius Thornwell rebounded from a tough stretch over the last week, scoring 15 points and making all six of his free throw attempts. In the previous two games, Thornwell made just two of his last 23 shots from the floor, and while his 4-9 performance may not stand out, it marks a clear improvement. The Gamecocks will need Thornwell to get back to his previous level of production to make any serious postseason run.

Foul trouble became the story for the Gamecocks in the early minutes of the second half. The teams combined for 17 fouls in the first eight minutes after halftime. Forwards Laimonas Chatkevicius and Chris Silva spent significant amounts of time off the court, joining guards PJ Dozier and Duane Notice, who also picked up their fourth fouls with significant time left in the second half. Guards Marcus Stroman and Justin McKie were forced to play 22 and 13 minutes respectively, as Dozier received minimal playing time in the second half.

South Carolina dominated the game in terms of physicality, outscoring the Bulldogs in the paint 36-18. Led by Carrera’s 15 rebounds, the Gamecocks also controlled the battle of the boards, gaining a 51-26 advantage overall and an 18-8 lead on the offensive glass. Senior forward Mindaugas Kacinas also came up with 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks, despite scoring just seven points.

With the win, South Carolina moves to 18-2 on the season, giving them the most wins in any of Martin’s four years in Columbia. The 5-2 conference start matches the best start since 2008-09, and the Gamecocks will look to continue their success to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.

The Gamecocks will stay in Columbia to avenge their earlier loss to Alabama on Saturday in Colonial Life.