Wright's game winner sends South Carolina past Missouri in 71-69 OT thriller

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – South Carolina reserve Jacobi Wright scored 11 points and his fadeaway jumper over Missouri’s 7-foot-5 Connor Vanover with 13 seconds left in overtime served as the game winner and the Gamecocks beat the Tigers 71-69 on Saturday.

B.J. Mack led South Carolina (14-2, 2-1 SEC) with 21 points, shooting 7 for 13 and making all six of his foul shots. Ta’Lon Cooper scored 11 and Myles Stute 10 for South Carolina.

Noah Carter led Missouri (8-8, 0-3) with 23 points, shooting 9 for 20 overall but just 2 for 10 from 3-point range. Carter’s final miss from 3 was an off-balance, contested shot as time expired to end the game.

Sean East II added 15 points for Missouri and Tamar Bates scored 12. Missouri never trailed in the second half until overtime.

Wright made two foul shots with 2:58 left in overtime to give South Carolina a 64-62 lead, the Gamecocks’ first since Cooper’s dunk for a 32-31 lead with 1:12 left before halftime. After Wright’s foul shots, Cooper converted a three-point play to push the lead to 67-62.

After Carter and Mack traded layups to make it 69-64, Carter made a pair of foul shots with 1:22 left and made a 3 to tie it at 69 with 36 seconds to go before Wright’s game winner.

Cooper’s 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in regulation knotted it at 62. Missouri called timeout with 19 seconds remaining to set a play. East dribbled for a final shot before Cooper fouled him with 7.4 seconds for just the Gamecocks’ sixth foul of the half. Off the dead ball, East missed a tough jumper at the buzzer that Cooper almost blocked.

South Carolina survived 16 turnovers, one off its season-high 17.

South Carolina hosts Georgia on Tuesday. Missouri travels to face Alabama on Tuesday.

KEY STAT

• Junior guard Jacobi Wright nailed a go-ahead jumper with 13.2 seconds left in OT to put the Gamecocks up, 71-69. Wright finished the game with 11 points securing his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year. He also grabbed three rebounds and went 4-of-4 at the free throw line in 29 minutes of action for Carolina. The Gamecocks are undefeated in games when he scores 10 or more.
• Over the final 10:38 of regulation and the overtime period, South Carolina held Missouri to just 17 points on 33.3 percent shooting (7-for-21).

NOTABLES

• Graduate forward B.J. Mack returned to double-figures for the first time since Dec. 16, leading the Garnet & Black with 21 points on an efficient 7-of-13 from the field. Mack went a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe and it marks his fourth game this year leading the team in points.
• Four Gamecocks scored in double-figures: Mack (21), Wright (11), Ta’Lon Cooper (11) and Myles Stute (10).
• Graduate guard Ta’Lon Cooper grabbed a team high eight rebounds including three on the offensive end. Cooper made a clutch 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 62 sending it to overtime. The veteran leader was vital on the defensive end down the stretch guarding Missouri’s second leading scoring Sean East II.
• SEC Player of the Week Meechie Johnson led Carolina with three assists, marking his fifth game this year leading the Gamecocks in passing.
• South Carolina was effective at the foul line yet again shooting 88.9 percent (16-for-18). It is the third game this season shooting 88 percent or better at the line.
• The overtime victory is the first for Carolina since a 74-71, win at Georgetown on Dec. 3, 2022, in the nation’s capital. The Gamecocks had lost their previous three overtime games all coming in conference play last season.
• The win is the program’s second all-time win at Mizzou Arena in eight tries and first since a 63-53 in CoMo on Jan. 28, 2017, by the then No. 23/24 Gamecocks who were led by a double-double from Sindarius Thornwell (16 points and 11 rebounds).
• The victory also snaps a three-game losing streak to Missouri and is Carolina’s second true road win in four tries this season.

UP NEXT

Carolina (14-2, 2-1 SEC) returns home from its two-game road swing for a late, 9 p.m. game against Georgia (12-4, 2-1 SEC) on Tuesday night. Roy Philpott (pxp) and Daymeon Fishback (analyst) will be on the call for the ESPNU broadcast.

###