The No. 15 South Carolina men’s basketball team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 80-66 in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.
"I thought we played well today in a lot of different ways. Our general body of work was really good," head coach Lamont Paris said. "The guys will go get rested, we'll watch a little tape tonight and, hopefully, some of the guys that did some really good things will carry that forward."
Arkansas got off to a hot start, holding an 11-3 advantage early in the first half. Senior guard Khalif Battle sparked the Razorbacks’ timely run with 5 straight points.
But South Carolina immediately answered with a run of its own. Freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles scored 11 points over a four-minute span to give the Gamecocks a 1-point lead.
Both teams continued to go back and forth, as neither side led by more than 3 points for the rest of the half. South Carolina went into the locker room with a 38-35 advantage after a buzzer-beating layup from junior guard Meechie Johnson.
Murray-Boyles finished the half with 12 points, graduate student forward B.J. Mack put up 9, and Johnson contributed 4.
South Carolina would carry its momentum into the second half, as it opened on a 10-0 run to give the team a 48-35 lead with 16 minutes left.
Arkansas answered with a 12-5 run to cut the Gamecocks' lead to six, but South Carolina took charge again behind its frontcourt duo of Mack and Murray-Boyles. The two combined for 11 points over a two-minute span to give the Gamecocks a 15-point lead with seven minutes remaining.
The Gamecocks overwhelmed the Razorbacks for the rest of the game. The team's lead grew to as much as 20 points in the second half, and it went a scorching 17-29 (56%) from the field.
"My teammates really just getting me in the right spots, hitting me when they see I (have) a good chance to get around the basket," Murray-Boyles said. "I really credit them and then also coach for writing up these plays so that we can get open — have multiple options."
Murray-Boyles led the way for the Gamecocks, finishing with 24 points and seven rebounds overall. He is followed by Mack, who scored 19 points, and graduate student guard Ta'Lon Cooper, who totaled 11 points and three assists.
"(Murray-Boyles') ceiling is so high. He's got an unbelievably high ceiling," Paris said. "Some of the shots he made today were off-balance, moving away from the basket, and it takes incredible touch to finish some of those."
Both teams shot efficiently, as South Carolina went 32-61 (52%) from the field, and Arkansas went 27-52 (51%).
The difference-maker in the game came in the paint. South Carolina dominated Arkansas down low, outscoring the Razorbacks 52-38.
"Our bigs were scoring around the basket, and the best basketball is inside-out basketball, so I think that's the mindset that we had," Cooper said.
For the Razorbacks, Battle finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while graduate student forward Makhi Mitchell collected 15 points and five rebounds.
South Carolina came away with a sizable victory despite struggling from 3-point territory, as the team went just 3-for-15 from long range.
With the win against the Razorbacks, the 2023-24 Gamecock men's basketball team has tied the school record for wins in a season (26). The 2016-17 team also won 26 games.
South Carolina is set to play No. 12 Auburn (24-7, 12-5 SEC) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN.