Last-minute steal, free throws lead USC to win over Rebels
The last time Malik Cooke passed to Ramon Galloway, it almost led to South Carolina throwing the game away.
Cooke and Galloway came through when it mattered, though, helping lift South Carolina to a 79-73 win over Ole Miss and snap a five-game losing streak.
“Tremendous win for our team,” USC coach Darrin Horn said. “I’m unbelievably proud of our guys.”
With the Rebels holding the ball, down three and looking to tie the game at 76 before the end of regulation, Cooke stripped Ole Miss guard Chris Warren and flipped the ball to Galloway, who drove down court to the basket and drew a foul with 23 seconds left.
“They just told us to go out there and be aggressive,” Cooke said. “We knew [Warren] was going to be involved in some sort of ball screen. I just tried to be aggressive and make a play.”
Cooke did, and two free throws by Galloway later, USC sealed its first win since Feb. 2.
Galloway’s two late makes were part of a stellar night at the line for USC, which shot 20-of-22 on free throws. The 90.9 percent success rate bested the SEC-leading Rebels, who entered the game shooting 75.3 percent from the line and went 16-of-21 on the night. The Gamecocks entered the night shooting 63.8 percent on free throws, but Horn said the way his team performed from the line wasn’t something he didn’t expect.
“I’m not that surprised by that,” Horn said. “That’s just another good thing. We think we have guys who do a good job with that. Obviously that’s a terrific number, a great percentage.”
Carolina appeared well on its way to an easy win when it led the Rebels by 14 with 6:49 remaining in the game. However, Ole Miss battled back, pulling the game to within seven, 69-62, when Cooke threw a pass through Galloway’s hands and into the seats behind the scorer’s table with 4:33 left. Warren, who had a career-high 33 points, drilled a 3-pointer for Ole Miss immediately after the turnover. Moments later, the Rebels completed their comeback, tying the game at 73 with 1:21 left on a Zach Graham layup, only to see a Sam Muldrow 3-pointer 11 seconds later put the Gamecocks ahead for good.
“The sense of urgency that we played with the last five or six minutes, we have to play like that for 40 minutes,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “If you play like that for 40 minutes, it is not a one- or two-possession game and you’ve got a margin for error.”
Muldrow, who was honored prior to the game as the school’s all-time blocked shots leader with a plaque, led the Gamecocks with 23 points and 10 rebounds despite being in foul trouble most of the night. Galloway had 15 points, Cooke had 13 and Damontre Harris had 11. Guard Eric Smith, who shared ball-handling duties with Bruce Ellington, had seven assists in 18 minutes.
A solid start helped to spur the Gamecocks. USC led 38-34 at halftime. The Gamecocks shot 38.2 percent from the floor in the first period-— the first time USC has broken the 25 percent mark in the last four games. It was the highest-scoring first half for USC since it scored 44 points against S.C. State in the first 20 minutes of a 91-56 win on Jan. 4.
Carolina is now 9-1 in the series when games are played in Columbia. The home team has dominated the series, winning 18 of the 20 non-neutral court meetings in history. The win gives USC a 14-13 all-time lead in the series with the Rebels, though the Gamecocks were more focused on the fact they won for their first time in six outings.
“We’ve been through a lot. It wasn’t fun,” Muldrow said of the losing streak. “We just had to go out there and have fun. We got the win.”