The South Carolina men’s basketball team defeated Oklahoma 85-76 on Tuesday evening at Colonial Life Arena, breaking the team’s three-game losing streak.
Junior forward Elijah Strong got to work quickly for the Gamecocks in the first minute with a jumper and two 3-pointers to push the Gamecocks out in front 8-0 against the Sooners. Strong continued to flash his range with another 3-pointer, scoring all 11 of South Carolina’s first points of the evening.
Oklahoma finally broke through after a three-minute scoring drought, responding with a 3-pointer from junior guard Xzayvier Brown. Senior forward Tae Davis and Brown each added a layup to put the Sooners within 8.
Senior guard Mike Sharavjamts and redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox joined the scoring with two layups, giving the Gamecocks a 17-7 lead. The Sooners responded in between with another layup by Brown, but the Gamecocks earned their largest lead of the evening following shots from Strong and Sharavjamts to take a 12-point lead.
A 5-point run for Oklahoma pressured the Gamecocks' 21-14 lead, but graduate guard Myles Stute found his first points of the evening with a 3-pointer to stop the offensive charge.
Following an almost three-minute scoring drought for the Sooners, Stute had another long-range 3-pointer to break up the scoring. The Sooners finally found momentum in the last five minutes of the first half, scoring 7 against the Gamecocks to cut the deficit to 5 points.
Redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson scored his first points of the game with two minutes and 12 seconds left in the first half, draining both of his free throws to push the Gamecocks up 8.
Oklahoma made a push in the last minute and a half on a Davis 3-pointer and Brown fast break layup, but the Gamecocks ended the first half up 39-36 following a last-second buzzer beater from freshman forward EJ Walker.
The second half started much slower than the first half, with equal opportunities from both sides in the first few minutes. The Gamecocks were able to grow the lead back up to 10 courtesy of another Stute 3-pointer and a dunk from Knox.
Baskets from Brown, redshirt senior guard Nijel Pack and senior center Mohamed Wague cut the lead back down 6. A free throw from Knox and a 3-pointer from freshman guard Grant Polk added 4 to South Carolina’s lead.
Two late fouls and a turnover by the Gamecocks gave the Sooners easy points to push the deficit. Despite that, late shots from Strong and Knox kept the Gamecocks in front 72-62.
With under two minutes to go, the Sooners got within 6 and continued to pressure. In the last minute of the game, Johnson made eight free throws to help expand the tight lead. Despite the late attempts by Oklahoma's offense, the Gamecocks emerged with the 85-76 win.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks (11-8, 2-4 SEC) travel to College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M (14-4, 4-1 SEC) on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the SEC Network.