South Carolina beats Ole Miss with half-court 3 at buzzer

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – James Reese V hit a half-court bank shot at the buzzer and South Carolina beat Mississippi 77-74 in overtime on Tuesday night.
 
Devin Carter’s layup gave South Carolina a 74-73 lead with 1:26 remaining in the extra period. Nysier Brooks made 1 of 2 free throws to tie it with 1:04 left, but the Rebels then missed two 3-point attempts. Following a South Carolina timeout with two seconds to play, Jermaine Couisnard got the ball to Reese, who heaved it from the logo for the game winner.
 
Erik Stevenson scored 17 points to lead South Carolina (15-10, 6-7 Southeastern Conference). Carter finished with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Keyshawn Bryant also 16 points and Reese had nine.
 
Brooks, Matthew Murrell and Jarkel Joiner each scored 18 points for Ole Miss (12-14, 3-10). Luis Rodriguez had 13 rebounds to go with eight points.
 
The Gamecocks trailed for most of the second half and by as many as eight, but then used an 11-3 run for a 68-66 lead with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. Bryant sparked the surge with a 3-pointer and Stevenson capped it with two from long range. Joiner’s layup with 1.7 left sent it to overtime tied at 68.
 
Ole Miss closed the first half on a 15-7 run for a 29-28 advantage and stretched it to 49-41 with 11:39 to play.

KEY STATS
> Carolina had three players score 16 or more points. Erik Stevenson (17), Keyshawn Bryant (16) and Devin Carter (16) totaled 49 of the Gamecocks’ 77 points.
> The Gamecock defense didn’t allow a field goal in the final 2:54 of the game.
> The Gamecocks outscored Ole Miss in the paint by a margin of 42-34.
> Carolina also swiped 12 steals compared to the Rebels’ six steals. The 12 Gamecock steals accounted for 12 off Ole Miss’ 18 turnovers.

NOTABLES
> James Reese V’s game-winner as time expired in overtime was the first game-winner by a Gamecock since Jermaine Couisnard’s game-winner to take down Kentucky on Jan. 15, 2020.
> Carolina’s Tuesday night victory in Oxford, Mississippi, was their first road win against the Rebels since 2016 and marked their third ever road win against Ole Miss.
> The Gamecocks’ overtime win was their first since they beat Georgia on Feb. 26, 2020, and needed the extra period to claim victory.
> Devin Carter posted a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), which was the first of his career. Carter’s 11 rebounds was a career high.

UP NEXT
> South Carolina will be back at Colonial Life Arena for its next two games. The Gamecocks first host LSU (18-7, 6-6 SEC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network. Kevin Fitzgerald (pxp) and Dane Bradshaw (analyst) will be on the call remotely. It’s Legends Weekend for Carolina and the team will honor program greats, with special recognition for the 1971 ACC and 1997 SEC Championship teams.

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