Game Balls: South Carolina Vs. Missouri

South Carolina men's basketball team had multiple players step up in a big way in a hard-fought game against Missouri.

After a memorable win over top-ten Kentucky earlier in the week, Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks didn't let the emotions run too high or bog them down in their matchup against the Missouri Tigers. While it was far from their best performance as a team, there were times when specific players stepped up in the big moments, and we awarded a few with some game balls.

1) BJ Mack

BJ Mack continues to silence those who criticized him leading into the Arkansas game, finishing this afternoon with 21 points on nearly 55 percent shooting. At one point, Mack's point total tied Missouri's point total in the first half. One of the most significant moments that stood out to us was when Mack made a perfect bounce pass to Zachary Davis in the corner for a three during the stretch at the end of the game that helped Carolina pull away. 

Ta'Lon Cooper and forward B.J. Mack celebrate a basket against the Missouri Tigers / eff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

2) Morris Ugusuk

In back-to-back games, a true freshman has contributed significantly to the game's outcome for South Carolina. While Ugusuk was limited to only 11 minutes on the court, he was perfect from the field and hit some big-time threes. This was the second time in the last six games he saw 10+ minutes, and he made them count.

3) Ta'Lon Cooper

Cooper has been a consistent overall player for the Gamecocks over the past several games, scoring ten or more points in five of the last six contests. Not only has he provided a boost in scoring with the struggles of Meechie Johnson, but he's been even better on the defensive end, consistently forcing contested shots and rebounding with the Bigs.

Coach Paris and the team improve to 17-3 (5-2) on the season and will now face one of the toughest away stretches remaining on their schedule. They will travel to Knoxville in what may be a top-25 matchup, and they remain on the road next Saturday when they take on Georgia, with that game almost seemingly looking like a must-win game.

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