South Carolina Basketball: Devin Carter and free throws hold off Missouri
On the night South Carolina honored seven seniors, freshman Devin Carter scored 10 points in the final five minutes to help the Gamecocks hold off Missouri for a 73-69 win.
South Carolina led by 14 midway through the second half and looked like it would cruise to an easy win over the second-worst team in the SEC. But South Carolina had just four made field goals in the final 9:55 of the game and Missouri crept back into the game.
South Carolina missed 11 of 14 shot attempts, including six straight, and Missouri trimmed the lead down to four. Behind a dunk by Keyshawn Bryant, South Carolina stretched the lead back to eight, but Missouri once again whittled it down to a single point.
Frank Martin called a play to get the ball to Carter going to the basket. Carter drove, drew a hard foul, and flipped the ball off the glass for a layup. He made the free throw for the three-point play, making it a two-possession game. South Carolina forced a turnover and South Carolina made its free throws down the stretch, but it was Carter’s play that swung the game back in South Carolina’s direction.
“He made some big-time offensive plays to create free throw opportunities and made free throws,” Martin said. “Give him credit. He made a hard shot. He got in there and created a foul.”
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Carter added a breakaway dunk when he snuck behind the defense on an inbounds play, but the rest of the scoring was on free throws. South Carolina was 14-16 from the line in the second half and made its final eleven free throws of the game.
Carter finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Couisnard also had 17 points and tied his season-high with seven assists while only turning the ball over once. James Reese added 13 and Bryant and Erik Stevenson each had nine points and seven rebounds.
“They’ve got an edge about them,” Martin said. “I wasn’t happy with some of those guys today and they let me know they weren’t happy with me. I’m at peace with that.”
Pickett led Missouri with 23 points and Kobe Brown had 19.
Notes:
The late George Glymph, a Columbia basketball legend, was honored before the game. Some of Glymph’s former players were part of the ceremony. … AJ Wilson got the Senior Day start in place of Wildens Leveque. It was his first start since January 11. The other four starters remained the same, as all are seniors. Only Wilson and James Reese are out of eligibility. … South Carolina had nine turnovers, tying a season-low against Division I opponents (South Carolina had eight against Allen). … Wildens Leveque had a career-high four blocks. He also had four points and five rebounds and had several strong plays. …Announced attendance was 9,479. … South Carolina’s next game is Saturday at Auburn.
