Ole Miss and South Carolina squared off in Oxford on Saturday afternoon. The game was televised on SEC Network.
Gamecocks Take the Early Lead
Strong scored the first points of the game but then suffered an injury. Sharavjamts found Kapic for an open three. Knox extended the lead to six with a mid-range jumper. A three from Kapic gave South Carolina a 12-3 lead, prompting an Ole Miss timeout.
Knox made 1-of-2 free throws. Sharavjamts drove and scored after Ole Miss converted a three point play. The Gamecocks and Rebels traded baskets. Grant Polk then drained a three. Dia scored on a put back dunk. Kapic hit a jumper. South Carolina led 22-12 before Ole Miss shot two out of the timeout.
Dia connected on both free throws after the timeout. Ole Miss cut its deficit to six with two more free throws and then four with a fade away jumper. Ole Miss continued their run, cutting the deficit to two. Kapic ended the run with a bucket under the rim. Dia stayed hot with another jumper. The Gamecocks led by five.
Ole Miss hit two free throws. Stute drained a three. Meechie connected on two free throws to push the lead to six. South Carolina led 34-28 at the half.
Rebels Fight Back in Second Half
South Carolina hit a three to start the half. Ole Miss battled back, cutting the deficit to three. Ole Miss’s run continued as the Rebels took the lead. Meechie Johnson ended the run with a jumper. An alley-oop to Knox gave the Gamecocks the lead back. Stute drained a triple. The Gamecocks led by four.
Knox hit 1-of-2 from the line. Ole Miss scored on a layup after running down the court. An Ole Miss three-pointer cut its deficit back to one. Johnson responded with a step back three. Johnson’s two free throws extended the Gamecocks’ lead to four.
Sharavjamts grabbed an offensive rebound and just beat the shot clock. Ellis found Strong at the elbow to push the Gamecocks lead to six. Strong then drained an open triple. A dunk cut the Ole Miss deficit to seven. Carolina 60 – Ole Miss 53
With two minutes left, the Gamecocks led by four. Dia scored to cut the Rebels’ deficit to two. The Gamecocks missed a layup. Dia grabbed an offensive rebound and tied it. Ole Miss lost the ball on a drive and it went out of bounds to South Carolina with 5.3 seconds left.
The Gamecocks (12-18, 3-14) were coming off a 78-59 loss to Tennessee. The Rebels (12-18, 4-13) were coming off a home loss to Vanderbilt by a score of 89-86.