South Carolina takes down Texas A&M on the road led by Meechie Johnson

In another key late-season SEC matchup, No. 18 South Carolina won a nail-biter against a desperate Texas A&M team Wednesday night at Reed Arena.

The Gamecocks, despite dealing with foul trouble all night, got 22 points from Meechie Johnson and a career-high 16 points from Zachary Davis, including the game-winning layup with 3 seconds left, to secure a 70-68 win.

It’s the team’s sixth SEC road win this year, further strengthening a resume that puts Carolina as a lock to make the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today.

Meanwhile, the Aggies, who battled with Carolina all night, find themselves losers of six straight and on the wrong side of the tournament bubble.

[GamecockCentral for $1: In-depth coverage and a great community]

How it happened

Slow to get things going, the Gamecocks (23-5, 11-4 SEC) benefited from Texas A&M’s early inability to hit shots. The Aggies were shooting 14 percent from the field at the first media timeout. 

The Gamecocks saw the foul struggles from their previous game against Ole Miss pop back up. Some unnecessary contact prompted Collin Murray-Boyles to the bench and a change to the zones and rotations several times. 

The team saw minutes for Ebrima Dibba, Stephen Clark and Morris Ugusuk in the wake of the foul issues. Dibba hadn’t played since Nov. 6, 2023.

[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]

South Carolina struggled to match Texas A&M’s fast pace, used to playing a slower one themselves. The Gamecocks lead 14-12 at the second media timeout. 

BJ Mack, who led South Carolina with five points, had two fouls midway through the half. He had to spend time on the bench as well. 

The Gamecocks had more success offensively than the Aggies, shooting 52% to their 30%, respectively. They struggled to hold on to the ball though, conceding eight turnovers and only taking away two in the first half.  

Despite shooting at a higher rate, South Carolina couldn’t pull away due to the number of free throws they gave away. The team had 10 fouls as a whole at half time and they gifted Texas A&M with 11 points. 

[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]

Mack, Davis, Murray-Boyles and Ta’Lon Cooper, all starters, had two fouls each at the break. 

The Gamecocks came out of the half playing more composed. They quickly created their largest lead of the game with 13 points and forced Texas A&M to call a timeout. 

Foul troubles followed South Carolina through the second half. Midway through, Mack, Johnson and Murray-Boyles had three each and made the rotation change once again. Before heading to the bench, Johnson got up to 15 points. 

South Carolina led by as much as 13 but allowed a 17-1 run to trail for the first time with about eight minutes left. The bucket that put the Aggies over the top was their first three of the night.

The lead changes came frequently and persisted until Texas A&M went on a scoring drought that lasted over four minutes to close out the game. It allowed South Carolina to build a lead and hold it up despite Texas A&M’s attempt at last-minute heroics.

With the game tied at 68, Johnson drove inside the paint, made a nice pass to an open Davis, who would sink the go-ahead layup to win the game.

Two observations

Aggies grabbed more rebounds—Texas A&M is ranked third in the nation in rebounds and average 42.7 a game. The Gamecocks managed to hold their own in the battle for boards and had 35 to the Aggies’ 37.

Meechie got hot—Meechie Johnson had 22 points after a few slower offensive performances. He hit three three-pointers and shot 7-of-14 from the field.

[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]

Key stat

88 percent from the free throw line—This is the second game in a row that South Carolina’s play is ruled by the fouls it committed. As a team, the Gamecocks committed 21 fouls. 22 of Texas A&M’s points came from free throws.

Turning point

Midway through the second half, South Carolina went on a scoring drought, getting only one free throw but allowing 17 points. The Aggies took their first lead of the night and overcame a 13-point deficit.

But Carolina didn’t panic and answered back getting big bucket after big bucket. Johnson and Davis combined in the final 4:11 for the final 11 South Carolina points of the game with Johnson scoring five points and assisting Davis on two layups including the game-winner.

Up next

South Carolina will head back home to face No. 24 Florida (20-8, 10-5 SEC) on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at noon on ESPN.

Discuss South Carolina basketball on The Insiders Forum