The South Carolina men’s basketball team secured its second Southeastern conference win against the Arkansas Razorbacks 72-53 on Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena.
“I’m just really happy for the guys to play well and really to have two consecutive games in this building that we play really well in a way that we were able to reap the rewards of it,” head coach Lamont Paris said.
The Razorbacks spent 19 minutes in the first half trailing the Gamecocks, opening the game shooting 3-24 from the field.
South Carolina kept Arkansas from scoring throughout the opening half, collecting four steals, 14 defensive rebounds and 11 points from turnovers.
The Razorbacks struggled keeping up with the Gamecocks, as the team would go 10 minutes without a field goal that allowed South Carolina to go on a 11-1 scoring run. The first half ended with the Gamecocks up 32-14 with sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles leading the way with 11 points.
The two teams played the second half much closer than the first, with the Razorbacks scoring just 1 point less than the Gamecocks at 40-39. The Gamecocks continued to play through Murray-Boyles as he scored 24 of South Carolina's 40 points in the second half.
Sophomore forward Jordan Butler scored 9 points in the game and hit two 3-pointers. Paris said this was Butler's biggest game of the season, with aggressive plays with swift movement on the court.
The Razorbacks started to make a comeback with 11 minutes left in the half, ending with 13 fast-break points against the Gamecocks. The Razorbacks outscored South Carolina 13-2 during the last two minutes of the second half, but was unable to catch up due to the Gamecock's large lead against the team .
Controlling the glass
The Gamecocks grabbed rebounds on both sides of the court, limiting the Razorbacks chances to score second-chance points. South Carolina topped Arkansas' 32 rebounds with 35 rebounds of its own and 4 second-chance points.
The Gamecocks scored 38 points in the paint, due to the smooth transition between offense and defense. Graduate student forward Nick Pringle said the Gamecocks' offensive execution helped the team out on the defensive side of the court.
“From the offense end, we took care of the ball, and that’s the main thing that actually helped us get to our spots and get the ball inside,” Pringle said. “Doing that from the offense end, and it helps us in our defense end and transition.”
Foul trouble
Both the Gamecocks and the Razorbacks played hard and physically in a game that involved 36 fouls and 48 free-throw opportunities. Junior forward Trevon Brazile for the Razorbacks was benched for his fifth foul of the game with 6:03 left in the game.
Arkansas head coach John Calipari said that during the second half, he instructed his team to stop fouling so they could return to the locker room and get on the bus.
“We needed to just get out of the gym,” Calipari said. “We gave it away a lot earlier — or they took it from us.”
Murray-Boyles and Pringle duo second-half surge
Murray-Boyles and Pringle worked together, scoring 34 points in the second half, with 14 coming from free throws. Murray-Boyles led the team in scoring throughout the game, totaling 35 points.
Murray-Boyles' sharp offensive plays on the court helped him reach a new career high of 35 points, and made this his third straight 20-point outing.
“That's just how I attack every game, just being the most aggressive I could be because I know this team needs it, and I need it for me,” Murray-Boyles said. “That’s my goal for every time I go into a game — just be aggressive and look to score.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks will be back home to play the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday night for Senior Night. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.