No. 16 USC Holds Off MSU in Thrilling SEC Showdown

Saturday, February 11

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

14-10, 5-7

#19 South Carolina

20-5, 10-2

Team	1	2	F
South Carolina	36	41	77
Mississippi State	36	37	73

Tyson Carter had a career-high 22 points in the 77-73 loss to No. 16 South Carolina.

No. 16 USC Holds Off MSU in Thrilling SEC Showdown

February 11, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Official Stats Official Stats (PDF)Photo Gallery Postgame Press Conference

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State fought valiantly but was denied the upset bid in the end Saturday night against No. 16 South Carolina.

A 11-3 run late lifted the Gamecocks to a 77-73 victory before a crowd of 7,635 and a national television ESPN2 audience at Humphrey Coliseum.

Tyson Carter scored a career-high 22 points to pace the Bulldogs' efforts. Mario Kegler added 16 points and Xavian Stapleton added 11 points. Aric Holman had a team-high seven rebounds. Quinndary Weatherspoon had a team-high five assists tonight.

South Carolina maintained a share of a three-way tie for the Southeastern Conference lead while moving to 20-5 overall and 10-2 in league play. MSU fell to 14-10 and 5-7.

"That was a disappointing loss because we had a great opportunity to beat a very good basketball team," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "I was proud of our effort and our toughness. Turnovers were a key factor. The opponent having 17 more foul shots is also a tough recipe.

"Lamar (Peters) had a great first half. We should have had a lead at halftime. I liked our effort, our fight and our preparation. That is one of the best teams in country. We had a real chance to beat them. It was unfortunate we couldn't close the deal."

South Carolina started strong and quickly built a 14-5 lead. From there, the Bulldogs tightened some things up defensively and climbed back into the contest. With I.J. Ready again out of the lineup, Carter also took flight and began ramming home 3-pointers.

In the first half alone, the Starkville native was 4-of-5 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs would eventually hit 11 3-pointers and had its second-best shooting night (52.9 percent) in a conference game.

The Bulldogs pulled even on a 3-pointer from Lamar Peters and grabbed a 20-17 lead on a 3-pointer by Carter. The strong play continued and another 3-pointer by Carter ran the home team to a 31-24 lead.

The Gamecocks erased the seven-point deficit for a 36-36 halftime tie.

South Carolina would score the first seven points of the second half for a 43-36 lead. A layup by Eli Wright helped the Bulldogs battle back for a 44-44 tie.

The Gamecocks answered the game's next six points. The Bulldogs reclaimed a 56-54 lead with 9:36 left on a 3-pointer by Stapleton.

A layup by Mario Kegler gave the Bulldogs their last lead at 64-63 with 5:17 left.

From there, South Carolina followed with the game-deciding 11-3 run.

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 27 of 51 shots from the field (52.9 percent), 11 of 27 shots from 3-point range (40.7 percent) and 8 of 12 shots from the foul line (66.7 percent). The Gamecocks hit 27 of 54 shots from the field (50.0 percent), 6 of 15 shots from 3-point range (40.0 percent) and 17 of 29 shots from the foul line (58.6 percent).

MSU held a 31-28 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 12 assists and 19 turnovers, while the Gamecocks had 12 assists and 11 turnovers.

South Carolina received 28 points from Sindarius Thornwell, 15 points from Chris Silva and 10 points from Malik Kotsar.

MSU returns to the road for a contest at Georgia Tuesday night. The SEC Battle of the Bulldogs is set for an 8 p.m. CT start on ESPNU.