Last season, South Carolina had their fair share of close losses, and that continued last weekend against Auburn where the Gamecocks lost 67-71 on the road. With Auburn being the team's third straight loss, a solid home win hopes to get the Gamecocks on the right track.
The Gamecocks got off to a hot start against Oklahoma, and despite a late push by the Sooners, the game ended in an 85-76 victory for the Gamecocks. South Carolina did not give up the lead once in the entire game against the Sooners and scored the highest number of points since Dec. 30 against Albany.
The Gamecocks were looking to get back in the win column against the Sooners, who led the series 5-1 all-time before the loss Tuesday. South Carolina dominated the matchup the first 10 minutes of the contest and fought off Oklahoma’s offensive pushes.
Junior forward Elijah Strong came out hot for the Gamecocks on Tuesday night, scoring the Gamecocks' first 11 points within three minutes. Strong ended the night with 17 points and a 50% field goal percentage.
“Getting off to a fast start is always preferable, I would say,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “It’s not a necessity, but if you have your druthers, I’d always choose to get off to a fast start than a slow start.”
Oklahoma struggled to find an offensive spark in the first 10 minutes, but a double-digit contribution from leading scorer junior guard Xzayvier Brown, who finished with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists kept the Sooners alive. Senior forward Tae Davis also contributed to the Sooners offense with 20 points.
The last five minutes of the half saw some offensive production from the Sooners, with Brown scoring on a fast-break layup and a 3-pointer from senior center Kirill Elatontsev for his first points of the evening.
Despite the Gamecocks' explosive start, both teams finished the first half shooting 46.9% from the field. The Sooners scored 22 of their 36 points within the last seven minutes of the half.
The second half did not start off as one-sided as the first half. Oklahoma stayed within 11 points of South Carolina in the entire second half, with late fouls against the Gamecocks giving the Sooners opportunities to close the gap.
South Carolina finished the second half shooting 52.2% compared to Oklahoma’s 38.7%. The Gamecocks also had a 45% shooting percentage from three compared to Oklahoma's 19% which played a big factor in the victory.
Turnovers became an issue for both teams, with South Carolina committing 12 and Oklahoma committing 11. The major difference between the teams was the 18 points the Gamecocks scored off the turnovers compared to the Sooners' 10.
Despite a slow first half from redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson, he had late opportunities at the free-throw line to help the Gamecocks clinch the win. Johnson went 11-13 at the line in the second half and finished with 20 points, leading the Gamecocks in scoring for the night.
Redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox finished with a season-high 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“He’s improved as a defender,” Paris said. “There’s still room for growth. I still think he could be one of the best long-ball defenders in the conference.”
Graduate guard Myles Stute and senior guard Mike Sharavjamts both had double-digit points as well for the Gamecocks. Stute had 11 points, six rebounds and one assist. Sharavjamts had 10 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Even after the blowout loss to then No. 17 Arkansas 108-74 and against then No. 18 Georgia 75-70, the Gamecocks managed to combine individual successes and Oklahoma weaknesses to dominate against the Sooners and get back in the win column before heading on the road to take on Texas A&M.