GamecockScoop – MBB drops tight home game to Arkansas

South Carolina males’s basketball took a convention house recreation all the way in which right down to the ultimate seconds for the primary time this season, however might observe fairly pull off the upset.

After dropping the primary 5 SEC house video games by a median of 25.2 factors, the Gamecocks fought Arkansas all the way in which to the wire and even had a lead within the last minutes, however the Razorbacks survived with a 65-63 victory.

South Carolina (8-15, 1-9 SEC) trailed by as many as 11 factors with 13 minutes to go, however slowly fought again into the sport behind large performances from Josh Grey and Meechie Johnson. Grey scored a career-high 20 factors and matched his career-high in rebounds with 14, pulling in seven boards on both sides of the ball. Johnson additionally scored 20 factors, 17 of which got here within the second half after he didn’t knock down a area objective within the opening 20 minutes. Johnson went 6-of-8 capturing after halftime and 5-of-6 from 3-point vary, with a number of of these deep blasts trimming into the Arkansas (16-7, 5-5 SEC) lead within the second half.

The Razorbacks had balanced scoring with 4 totally different gamers scoring in double-figures. Jalen Graham and Devo Davis scored 16 and 15 respectively, with Graham going 8-of-10 from the sector. Arkansas led virtually the entire method in seach of its first street win of the season and a victory that will take it again to .500 play within the leaue, however South Carolina slowly scaled the mountain.

A 9-0 South Carolina run keyed by a pair of Johnson 3-pointers helped South Carolina take its first lead of the second half at 59-58 with 4:03 remaining, they usually even had possibilities to increase the lead towards an Arkansas offense struggling to get something going. Eric Musselman’s group missed 10 of its last 12 photographs from the ground aginst extra of South Carolina’s 1-3-1 zone. The groups traded buckets via the closing minutes, with six lead modifications in a span of underneath three minutes of play.

The sixth and last lead change of that span proved to be the game-winning basket, with Anthony Black transformed a layup to make it 64-63 Arkansas with 1:21 to go. South Carolina’s subsequent possession ended when GG Jackson was referred to as for a shifting display, however the Gamecocks had one other probability ot take the lead after Black missed a layup. The possession led to Johnson lacking a 3-pointer, however a missed free throw on the different finish of the courtroom gave South Carolina the ball with 19 seconds left and an opportunity to stroll it off down some extent.

The Gamecocks labored the ball inside, however Hayden Brown’s layup was off the mark. Black secured the rebound, a part of a stat-stuffing day of 13 factors, six boards, 4 assists two blocks and a steal wherein he performed all 40 minutes. He tacked on yet another free throw to make it 65-63, and the last-ditch heave up the opposite method misfired.

On the damage entrance, Ford Cooper Jr. didn’t play due to a deep thigh bruise he suffered in follow.

South Carolina will now need to take a seven-game dropping streak right into a pair of street SEC video games, beginning subsequent Tuesday night time at Missouri and concluding on Saturday at Ole Miss.

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