COLOMBIA, SC (AP) – DJ Stewart Jr. scored 29 points out of 4 out of 6 3-point shots and Mississippi State withdrew from South Carolina in the second half for a 75-59 victory on Saturday.
AJ Lawson’s dunk with 13:44 left to bring Gamecocks within 50-49. The state of Mississippi (11-9, 5-6 Southeast Conference) responded with a 13-0 explosion in the next five minutes and South Carolina never recovered. The race started and ended with Stewart’s shots.
Iverson Molinar scored 16 points for Bulldogs who finished 26 to 56 (46%) including 10 to 19 (53%) in the 3 point range.
South Carolina’s pitching luck (5-7, 3-5) was just the opposite, as the Gamecocks went 19 to 61 (31%) and lost 20 out of 25 attempts at 3 points.
Keyshawn Bryant and Lawson each scored 13 for Gamecocks and Seventh woods scored 10.
With the victory, the Bulldogs avoided a fifth consecutive SEC loss, which has already happened twice in the six seasons of coach Ben Howland in charge of the state of Mississippi.
Howland is now 4-3 against the Gamecocks coach Frank Martin. Saturday’s game was the first of the last seven between the two teams where the winner won by more than six points.
The Gamecocks will play their second in a three-game home game on Tuesday, facing Alabama, who are in tenth place. Bulldogs return home to face LSU on Wednesday.
KEY STATISTICS
> South Carolina reached its lowest point of the season, 31.1 percent (19 to 61) in today’s game. Gamecocks were only 5 out of 25 (20 percent) behind the arc.
NOTABLES
> Junior Guard AJ Lawson became the 47º South Carolina’s 1,000-point club member with his second free throw at the start of today’s competition. Lawson marks the sixth player to reach the 1,000 point mark under the direction of the head coach Frank Martin following Michael Carrera, Sindarius Thornwell, Duane Notice, Chris Silva and Maik Kotsar. He finished with 13 points, his seventh double figure in eight SEC games.
> Junior Wing Keyshawn Bryant he also finished with 13 points off the bench.
> Redshirt senior Seventh woods scored 10 points, marking his third game in a row in double digits.
NEXT
Gamecocks continue their SEC homestand when they receive league leader No. 10/7 Alabama (15-5, 10-1 SEC) on Tuesday night. Tipping time against Crimson Tide is scheduled for 6:30 pm ET at Colonial Life Arena. It will be the only meeting between the two schools in the SEC’s regular season game.