Dru Smith scored 17 and Mark Smith 13th at number 20, Missouri, had a streak of three games lost with a 93-78 victory over tough South Carolina on Saturday.
The Tigers (14-6, 7-6 of the Southeast Conference) opened a 19 point lead in the first half and stayed comfortably ahead the rest of the way to sweep the Gamecocks (5-11, 3-9), who lost their fifth consecutive game.
The Smiths, unrelated senior allies, spurred Missouri’s 25 to 12 revolutionary race in the first half.
USC Athletics Communications and Public Relations
After Trae HannibalThe second consecutive 3-point goal drew South Carolina within 20-17 with 11 minutes remaining, Mark Smith started the raise with 3 and Dru Smith followed by another long distance.
By the time Dru Smith hit another 3 six minutes later, the Tigers were 38-23 and cruising.
South Carolina recovered in the second half to reduce its deficit to 59-52 in Justin Minaya’s basket, with 10 minutes left.
Then the Smiths started again, with Mark scoring seven points and Dru four, while the Tigers increased the margin to 73-56.
Gamecocks were unable to respond.
Missouri ended up with five players in double digits. Jeremiah Tilmon had 17 points, Xavier Pinson had 16 points and Kobe Brown 12, all in the first half.
AJ Lawson had the game’s best mark, 22 points, to lead South Carolina.
Missouri was fighting for one of the first seeds – and the farewell that comes with it – in the SEC tournament before its three-game losing streak.
The Tigers’ defense played a big role in the beginning, as South Carolina, 12th in the league’s pitch percentage, hit 1 out of 12 in a period. The Gamecocks had lost seven straight when Lawson hit a 30-footer on the buzzer to give Missouri a 45-29 lead at halftime.
KEY STATISTICS
> Tigers hit 58 percent (34 to 59) and outperformed Gamecocks 46-32 in painting.
NOTABLES
> Junior point guard AJ Lawson led the team with 22 points, his fourth game in a row with more than 20 points. He hit four 3s, his 11th game of the 2020-21 season, knocking down three or more 3s.
> Lawson now has 11 double-digit matches in 12 SEC games this season, scoring 20 or more points nine times in those competitions.
> Sophomore Trae Hannibal had his career record of 15 points and was perfect on the pitch, going from 6 to 6. Junior Keyshawn Bryant he also scored 15 to complete the double digit Gamecocks.
> Senior Nathan Nelson made his first career start today against Tigers on Senior Citizens Day.
NEXT
South Carolina will be on the road for a couple of clashes with the SEC next week, starting with a competition on Wednesday night in the state of Mississippi (11-11, 5-8 SEC). Tip time at the Humphrey Coliseum is at 19:00 Eastern Time.