Led by Meechie Johnon’s 21 points, South Carolina pulled off a 97-89 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.
Setting a season high in points, South Carolina (12-15, 3-11 SEC) snapped its seven-game losing streak with its first win since Jan. 20 against Oklahoma.
In addition to his 21 points, Johnson handed out a career-high nine assists for the Gamecocks (12-15, 3-11 SEC) before fouling out in the second half.
Mike Sharavjamts set a career high with 21 points for South Carolina along with four rebounds and five assists.
Following his career-high 46 points against Auburn, SEC leading scorer Josh Hubbard scored only 13 points and went 2 of 12 from 3-point range for Mississippi State. Hubbard, who missed 16 of 20 shots overall, had scored 30-plus points in the previous three games.
Quincy Ballard collected his second double-double of the season with a season high of 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (13-14, 5-9), who missed 13 throws. Ja’Borri McGhee notched seven assists off the bench and scored 11 points.
Jayden Epps scored 13 points in the first half for Mississippi State, but left with 1:39 to go in the first half. He was fouled on a running floater and writhed in pain as he clutched his left knee after landing awkwardly. He was helped off the floor by Mississippi State’s staff and did not return.
Mississippi State went on an 8-0 run to cut its 11-point deficit to three in the first half. South Carolina responded by pushing the lead back to seven at halftime.
In the second half, Mississippi State trimmed the deficit to seven with 3:22 remaining. However, back-to-back threes by Jordan Butler and Eli Ellis pushed the lead to 13 to mark the Gamecocks’ largest lead of the game.
Mississippi State cut the lead to seven again in the final seconds, but Sharavjamts converted at the free-throw line to keep the Bulldogs at bay.
