The South Carolina men's basketball team defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 64-61 Saturday for its fourth conference win of the season after a game-winning 3-pointer from redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson.
The Gamecocks came out of the gates hot, making five of their first eight shots and going on a 12-3 scoring run through the first five minutes of the game.
South Carolina’s offense cooled off after an Ole Miss timeout, but its defense managed to hold the Rebels to just 5-17 from the field and take a 22-12 lead by the under-eight media timeout.
Senior forward Malik Dia helped the Rebels go on an 8-0 run to cut into the Gamecock lead, but baskets from senior forward Nordin Kapic and redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox kept South Carolina in front.
Johnson hit a late layup to send the Gamecock into the locker room with a 34-28 lead. Kapic led the way with 10 points, while also shooting a perfect 4-4 from the floor.
South Carolina assisted on 69% of its made baskets in the first half and also managed to hit four 3-pointers compared to zero from the Rebels.
What helped keep Ole Miss in the game was its ability to generate points off turnovers, as the Rebels scored 8 points off of six Gamecock turnovers.
Coming out of the locker room, the Gamecocks struggled to find any reliable offense, shooting just 1-7 from the floor in the first five minutes of the half.
Ole Miss, however, earned its first lead of the day after Dia and senior guard AJ Storr scored off of Gamecock turnovers. South Carolina responded with an 8-0 run that put them back up 45-40.
The Rebels hit their first 3-pointer of the game just after the 11-minute mark after missing the previous 13 attempts. Johnson answered back with a 3-pointer and two free throws to put the Gamecocks up 51-47 with just under eight minutes to play.
Both teams continued to go back in forth, with South Carolina eventually building a 9-point lead due to its ability to hit shots from the perimeter. In turn, the Rebels came back with an 8-1 run to make the score 61-59 with just 1:38 remaining.
Dia tied the game with a tip-in layup, and the Rebels had a chance to hit the go-ahead basket with less than 30 seconds in the game, but senior guard Kezza Giffa turned the ball over with 5.3 seconds left.
South Carolina inbounded the ball to Johnson, who dribbled to the right wing before launching a 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net with 0.7 seconds left, sealing the Gamecock win 64-61.
Johnson ended the game with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Knox and Kapic finished with 12 points each. This is the second straight game that Kapic has ended a game with double figures.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks will play in the opening round of the SEC Tournament on March 11 in Nashville, Tennessee, at Bridgestone Arena. The time and opponent will be determined following Saturday’s games.