The South Carolina men’s basketball team fell to 0-7 in the SEC for the first time in program history after Saturday’s 65-60 overtime loss against Mississippi State.
"I told the team after the game that ... I felt bad for them, but I was happy with how we competed and how we fought and that I did believe our day is coming" head coach Lamont Paris said.
This was the second meeting between the two schools during the 2024-25 season with the Bulldogs winning 85-50 on Jan. 4 in Starkville.
The Gamecocks struggled in the first half to find any reliable source of scoring, shooting 5-25 from the field in the opening half. The Bulldogs were able to capitalize on the scoring struggles from South Carolina, going on a 7-0 run to end the half with a 28-20 lead.
Senior guard Jamarii Thomas led the Gamecocks with 8 points at the break in his first game back after missing the last four games with a right knee sprain.
Mississippi State went on another brief scoring run early in the second half to push its lead to 14, with under nine minutes to play.
The Gamecocks would not go away easily, going on a 19-5 scoring run over the games final six and half minutes, with the final basket coming off a steal and layup by junior guard Zachary Davis to force overtime.
"I feel like we were all on the same page just to stay in it, stay aggressive, not to hang our heads on being down by such a deficit and just keep playing our game," sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles said.
South Carolina had several chances to send the game to double overtime, with graduate student Nick Pringle having a game-tying putback overturned after it was ruled basket interference and turning the ball over with the Gamecocks down three with seven seconds left.
Defense Doing Its Job
Despite South Carolina falling to an even 10-10 record on the season, 0-7 in conference play, the team's defense is holding teams to 68.9 points per game.
In narrow losses to both Auburn and Florida, the Gamecocks held both teams to 19 and 15 points less than its season average.
In Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs, South Carolina was able to hold Mississippi State to just 65 points, 20 fewer than the team's first matchup this season. The Gamecocks also held sophomore guard Josh Hubbard to 12 points, who averages over 16 points per game.
"I think our defensive scheme worked perfectly today. We did a really good job of neutralizing 3-point shooters and really making them think on the offense," Murray-Boyles said. "So that really did us justice for sure late in the game. So I credit our defense for sure."
Closing Out Games
While the defense has allowed for South Carolina to remain competitive in several games in SEC play, it has struggled in closing out games against the conference's toughest competition, losing four of its last five games by 5 points or less.
In the 66-63 loss against Auburn, the team went the last five minutes of the game without a field goal, with Pringle having two free throws at the end of the game to put the Gamecocks up one in the games final seconds.
In Wednesday’s loss to Florida, the Gamecocks had several turnovers late in the second half before a go-ahead basket from the Gators to take the lead 70-69.
Thomas mentioned several ways the the Gamecocks can improve down the stretch after Saturday’s loss to the Bulldogs.
"You know, being strong with the ball, 50/50 balls, rebounds, loose balls," Thomas said. "Just simple IQ plays that shouldn't happen, and we should be making regular plays out there."
Thomas Back In Action
While others Gamecocks struggled to score today against the Bulldogs strong defense, Thomas was able to perform at a high level, ending the game with 19 points and two assists coming off the bench, with 9 of his points coming from the free throw line.
Before being sidelined with a knee injury, Thomas was averaging 12.3 points per game, witch is second on the team behind Murray-Boyles, and 3.3 assists.
With Thomas back in the lineup, this now gives South Carolina another guard capable of handling the ball to go alongside senior guard Jacobi Wright.
The Gamecocks still have struggled to maintain possession of the ball, even with Thomas playing, as the team accumulated 19 turnovers over the course of Friday’s game.
Whats Next?
The Gamecocks will be back in action on Tuesday against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on SECN.