Associated Press

South Carolina State Bulldogs (1-16, 0-1 MEAC) at Coppin State Eagles (10-7, 1-0 MEAC)

Baltimore; Monday, 5:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina State visits Coppin State after Angie Juste-Jean scored 25 points in South Carolina State’s 55-54 loss to the Morgan State Bears.

The Eagles have gone 5-0 in home games. Coppin State has a 4-0 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Bulldogs have gone 0-1 against MEAC opponents. South Carolina State ranks eighth in the MEAC with 7.3 offensive rebounds per game led by Justice Tramble averaging 1.9.

Coppin State’s average of 6.1 made 3-pointers per game is 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 7.2 per game South Carolina State allows. South Carolina State averages 50.0 points per game, 16.2 fewer points than the 66.2 Coppin State gives up.

The matchup Monday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Laila Lawrence is averaging 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals for the Eagles.

Tramble is averaging 4.6 points for the Bulldogs.

LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 6-4, averaging 63.3 points, 32.4 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 9.7 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 37.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points per game.

Bulldogs: 0-10, averaging 51.4 points, 26.9 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 8.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 39.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

STARKVILLE — The vibes were high in Humphrey Coliseum early in the second quarter. 

Mississippi State women’s basketball center Madina Okot had just converted a layup off a sweet one-handed pass from Denim DeShields. It gave MSU its largest lead Sunday afternoon, an 11-point advantage over No. 2 South Carolina, the defending national champion. The Bulldogs’ fast start looked formidable. Maybe, just maybe, a triumphant upset and signature win for coach Sam Purcell was brewing. 

Then South Carolina turned into the team that’s lost just once in the past 1 1/2 seasons. The Gamecocks (14-1, 2-0 SEC) outscored Mississippi State 51-17 from that moment through the end of the third quarter to power toward a 95-68 victory.

The Bulldogs (13-3, 0-2) have lost consecutive conference games by at least 22 points with more ranked opponents like Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU looming in the next month. Purcell believes the Bulldogs have the right pieces, however, to compete at the top of the SEC. 

“I don’t think there’s really anything missing,” he said. “I really think it showed in the first quarter when you got 22-13 on the No. 1 team in the country that you have the pieces. Now, it’s just making sure that they handle it all right.”

What changed for Mississippi State in the second quarter

MSU took its 28-17 lead with 6:48 remaining in the second quarter. Four and a half minutes later, South Carolina took the lead and never gave it back. 

South Carolina shot 6-for-9 from 3-point range and didn’t commit a foul in the quarter.

“I think it started with sometimes the whistle goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” Purcell said. “I think we had zero whistle calls for us in the second quarter, and they had several. So then the game started slowing down. They got to the line, and you can’t have seven turnovers in one quarter. We talked about that. We value the ball. We know we’ve done so good, but we just had some dagger turnovers that allowed them to get some easy transition opportunities.”

Turnovers continue to be an issue for Mississippi State

Purcell warned before the season started that turnovers would be an issue, and it’s come to fruition. 

MSU committed 20 against South Carolina. The Gamecocks scored 23 points off those turnovers. It’s tied for the second most turnovers the Bulldogs have committed this season and the eighth time they’ve had at least 17 in a game. 

MORE: Inside the run that epitomizes Mississippi State basketball’s NCAA tournament potential

Many of them are self-inflicted, too, such as off-target passes or simply bad decisions. 

Mississippi State commits 16.1 turnovers per game, fifth worst in the SEC. Eniya Russell, DeShields and Okot all have more than 40 turnovers this season.

“Watch film, watch film, watch film, watch film,” said Destiney McPhaul, who scored 14 points off the bench. “The way you get better is you watch to see what you did wrong, learn from it and talk about it. You are going to make mistakes. You ain’t going to be perfect, but turnovers have been our biggest issue so far. We got to take care of the ball.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

These days, signing a Name, Image and Likeness deal and a return to football for the following season seem to go hand-in-hand.

That was the case for South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor.

The Garnet Trust, South Carolina’s NIL collective, announced on Saturday that it had reached a deal with Harbor, a wide receiver who is poised to have a huge season in 2025.

The Garnet Trust announced the deal on social media.

The sophomore didn’t make a formal announcement that he was returning for 2025, but the NIL likely cements a third season for him in Columbia. Plus, he posted this to social media shortly after the Garnet Trust announced the deal.

The 6-5, 235-pound receiver is one of the top athletes in the SEC and his numbers suggest that 2025 could be huge year for him, the first year he’ll be eligible for the NFL Draft.

The former five-star prospect caught 24 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns. That was second on the team behind tight end Joshua Simon.

With quarterback LaNorris Sellers returning, Harbor could have a big year after South Carolina went 9-4 in 2024.

Harbor could be preparing for a second season with the Gamecocks’ track and field team, as he was a two-sport athlete in high school and has continued so in college. That kept him out of spring drills last season.

During the outdoor season he earned co-SEC Freshman of the Week accolades after posting the third-fastest 100 meters in school history. Harbor also recorded his best times during the outdoor season of 10.11 in the 100m dash and 20.20 in the 200, earning second-team All-America honors in both events.

As a true freshman in 2023, Harbor played in all 12 games for South Carolina, including starts each of the final five games. He finished with 12 receptions for 195 yards, with an average of 16.3 yards per catch, along with a touchdown.

The Gamecocks recruited him out of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., where he played both football and ran track.

On the football field, he was a tight end and defensive end who was named a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in the District of Columbia.

He was also a two-time Gatorade Boys Track and Field Player of the Year in the District of Columbia (2021-22). He swept the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the 2021 and 2022 state meets and is the state record-holder in both events.