Photos: South Carolina continues slide

South Carolina had opportunities but could never maintain momentum and continued their slide against Mississippi State.

GG Jackson led the Gamecocks with 15 points to go along with five turnovers and zero rebounds. Meechie Johnson scored 13 and Josh Gray continued to show improvement with six points and 14 rebounds. Of his 14 rebounds, eight were on the offensive boards.

View photos from the game below.

Shakeel Moore finished at the rim as the clock continued to wind down, the fourth straight Mississippi State make off the second of three consecutive South Carolina turnovers. 

The Gamecocks jogged back down the court offensively with Meechie Johnson shaking his head as he tried to get back in the game that was slowly slipping away.

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Mississippi State was up 15 at that point and would ultimately hold on for a 66-51 win at Colonial Life Arena to push South Carolina’s losing streak to six games. 

It’s just the fourth time since joining the SEC the Gamecocks have started 1-8 in SEC play and just the second time since the league went to 18 league games in 2014.

How it happened

The Gamecocks (8-14, 1-8 SEC) jumped out to an early lead, their first lead in a home SEC game this season, but Mississippi State quickly gained control of the first half. 

The Bulldogs used their size and some early foul trouble to Josh Gray, to balloon a six-point lead at the half. A Mississippi State team that came in ranked No. 331 nationally in effective field goal percentage shot almost 47 percent from the field. 

The Bulldogs ultimately shot 52.9 percent from the field after coming in shooting 37.6 percent in SEC play.

There were a total of six lead changes and six ties in the first half with no team leading by more than seven points. 

Things changed to start the second half. Mississippi State started the half on a 6-0 run, compounded by a few critical South Carolina turnovers and poor defensive rebounding. 

South Carolina chipped quickly after that thanks to a deep three from Meechie Johnson to cut the lead to just six.

The Gamecocks, though, struggled for consistency with four turnovers in the first six minutes. The problems snowballed with South Carolina missing seven of its first 10 shots out of the break leading to transition opportunities for the Bulldogs. 

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Mississippi State finished with 19 fastbreak points and 12 second-chance points thanks to 21 offensive boards. 

South Carolina did its best to try and chip away at the lead. It got down to single digits a few times, but was never able to make a run to get the lead any closer. 

South Carolina finished shooting 6-for-17 on layups in what was another double-digit loss. 

Two observations

South Carolina needs more from its non-Gray bigs–Josh Gray continues to play well as the team’s starting center (six points, 14 boards). But the Gamecocks need more when he’s not in the game. With Gray out, Mississippi State attacked the paint and dominated at the rim and on the glass.

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Chico Carter’s limited role–Chico Carter played a season-low 12 minutes Tuesday and just two in the second half. He finished with no stats outside of a foul despite being on the bench for the entire game.

Key stat

18 and 21—Mississippi State finished with 21 points off of 18 Gamecock turnovers and it was a huge reason the Bulldogs let their lead grow late in the second half. The Gamecocks aren’t great at protecting the ball and need to be better about gifting their opponents’ easy open-court opportunities. 

Turning point

With about two minutes to go in the first half, Meechie Johnson drilled a deep three-pointer to make it just a two-point deficit with the half dwindling. The Gamecocks then gave up an easy two followed by a transition three off of a turnover.

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Up next

The Gamecocks are back at home Saturday facing Arkansas. The Razorbacks are talented but have struggled to find footing this year. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. 

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