Thomas, Davis lead South Carolina to 84-72 victory over Mercer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jamarii Thomas had 19 points and Zachary Davis scored 18 to lead South Carolina to an 84-72 victory over Mercer on Thursday night.

Thomas made 5 of 10 shots from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and 5 of 8 free throws for the Gamecocks (3-2). He also had three steals. Davis sank 7 of 12 shots with a pair of 3-pointers, adding five rebounds.

Collin Murray-Boyles scored 16 and finished a rebound shy of a double-double for South Carolina. Jacobi Wright scored 11.

Tyler Johnson hit four 3-pointers and led the Bears (2-3) with 15 points. Alex Holt and Angel Montas Jr. added 14 points apiece and Ahmad Robinson pitched in with 13 points and eight assists before fouling out. TJ Grant grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench.

Thomas and Davis scored seven points apiece in the first half to help South Carolina take a 36-32 lead into intermission. Cam Bryant scored all nine of his points and Johnson scored seven to keep Mercer (2-3) close. The difference in the first half was the Gamecocks made 5 of 9 free throws while the Bears did not attempt one.

South Carolina maintained a lead until Robinson buried a 3-pointer to put the Bears on top 60-59 with 10:47 left to play.

The Gamecocks moved back in front and a Myles Stute 3-pointer gave them their biggest lead to that point at 70-62 with 7:45 remaining. A Murray-Boyles dunk pushed the lead to double digits with 3:39 to go and South Carolina was not threatened from there.

It was the first time the two schools squared off since Dec. 30, 2001 — Dave Odom’s first season as South Carolina’s coach.

South Carolina will play Xavier in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday.

KEY STAT

• South Carolina made a season-high 12 triples tonight, T-4^th most in the Lamont Paris era.
• The Gamecocks held a 29-21 edge in bench points and a 11-3 edge in fastbreak points.

NOTABLES

• South Carolina has now won four-straight over Mercer with tonight marking the first victory over the Bears since 2001.
• Senior transfer Jamarii Thomas had a season-high 19 points to lead the team. He was 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
• Junior Zachary Davis had a career-high 18 points off the bench. He was 7-of-12 from the floor with five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles had 16 points and nine rebounds, just missing another double-double. He was effective and efficient per usual, going 6-of-7 from the floor with a pair of steals on the defensive end of the floor. He was 2-for-2 from deep, the first two 3s of his career in 33 games played the last two seasons.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks head south for a two-game MTE in the program’s debut at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Carolina opens vs. Xavier (5-0) on Monday. Tip is 8:30 p.m. (ET) on FS1 with Jeff Levering (pxp) and Donny Marshall (analyst) on the call. The team will face ei­ther Virginia Tech or Michigan Wednesday.

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