South Carolina Men’s Basketball Sneaks Past Ole Miss

The No.15 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks escaped an Ole Miss Rebels comeback effort to secure their 20th win of the season Tuesday. Freshman Collin Murray-Boyles led the charge for the Gamecocks, scoring 16 points on 8-11 shooting and securing just his third career 15+ point game.

Close But Never in Doubt for South Carolina

Ole Miss opened the game with the first bucket, yet that would be their only lead in the game. Despite a second half push, South Carolina’s win probability never dropped below 65 percent, according to ESPN.

After finishing the first half down 12, the Rebels would open the 2nd half seeing the deficit grow to a game-high 17. Then, Ole Miss began to show life, going on a 15-4 run sparked by senior guard Allen Flanigan, who got hot, scoring nine points in just under five minutes. The run saw the deficit cut to two with under seven minutes to play.

https://twitter.com/OleMissMBB/status/1755033037409325118

At 62-60 with 7 minutes left in the game, both teams would go cold, only scoring a combined 13 points in the final minutes of the game. Despite the run, Ole Miss would fall just short of the upset, with the game ending 68-65.

Top Performers

For South Carolina, three players reached double digit points. Collin Murray-Boyles led the team in points, with 16, and rebounds, with nine. Senior guards Ta’Lon Cooper and Myles Stute both ended with 12 points, as Stute shot 4-5 from three. Murray-Boyles also provided on the defensive end, adding two blocks and one steal.

https://twitter.com/GamecockMBB/status/1755229973516890468

As for the Rebels, senior Allen Flanigan tied a career high with 26 points, shooting 11-15 from the field. Senior guard Matthew Murrell was second on the team in scoring, with 17, and led the team in rebounds with nine. Ole Miss shot 50.9% from the field on the night and had five blocks and four steals as a team.

https://twitter.com/OleMissMBB/status/1755013025332154701

The Gamecocks will look to continue their six-game win streak heading into their next matchup against another SEC opponent, Vanderbilt. At 20-3, South Carolina holds the best overall record in the SEC. As for the Rebels, they hope to get back into the win column heading into a tough environment on the road against No.17 Kentucky. Their 18-5 record is misleading, as Ole Miss is just 5-5 in the SEC.