Gamecocks' Fighting Spirit Leads To Streak-Breaking Win At Ole Miss
Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks were inching closer and closer to winning their second total conference game in recent matchups, taking potential tournament teams like Arkansas, Missouri, and Georgia to the brink. Today, the Gamecocks finally put together enough ingredients as a team to get over the proverbial hump, defeating the Ole Miss Rebels 64-61.
To start the game, South Carolina couldn't find much of an offensive rhythm due to their inability to get into the driving lanes, as they made only five of their first sixteen shots spanning the course of the first ten minutes in the first half. On the other end, the Rebels had their way throughout this same stretch, hitting six shots, including four 3-pointers, as they took advantage of poor weak-side defensive rotations and overcommitments on the pick-and-roll to build a six-point cushion.
Due to the way the game was going at that point, Lamont Paris and his staff decided to employ their 1-3-1 zone defense, which caused the Rebels to take more outside jump shots, a weakness that the Gamecocks exploited to both slowdown Ole Miss' pace and get out more in transition. This led to a much tighter game in the period's final minutes, with the Rebels carrying only a three-point lead at halftime thanks to a couple of untimely turnovers from South Carolina's guards dealing with suffocating pressure near the boundaries.
In the second half, the Gamecocks and Rebels traded scores through second-chance points and points off turnovers, respectively. Josh Gray couldn't capitalize on some of his opportunities near the basket but turned in another solid performance in terms of his work off the glass, securing thirteen rebounds. The Rebels, however, continued to ratchet up the pressure on South Carolina's primary ball handlers, which led to nine second-half turnovers for the Gamecocks, continuing their trend of being unable to take care of the basketball.
With seven minutes to go, South Carolina found themselves within striking distance, being down only five points. Through some stingy collective defense and late clutch free throw shooting from Meechie Johnson, the Gamecocks outscored the Rebels by 8 points to win their first conference game in over a month.
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