Gamecocks Drop Tight Battle With No. 2/2 Auburn, 66-63

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Tahaad Pettiford assisted on Dylan Cardwell’s go-ahead dunk and converted two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining as No. 2 Auburn overcame an injury to leading scorer Johni Broom and rallied to beat South Carolina 66-63 on Saturday.

With Auburn trailing by a point with 90 seconds remaining, Pettiford fed Cardwell for a dunk to give the Tigers (15-1, 3-0 SEC) a 64-63 lead. Pettiford sealed the win with a pair of free throws in the final seconds and finished with 15 points.

Broome, considered a contender for national player of the year honors, rolled his left ankle after going up for a rebound and exited the game with about 13 minutes left in the second half. He had six points and three rebounds in 24 minutes. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said Broome suffered a “significant sprain” and that the player will have an MRI when the team returns home Saturday night.

Collin Murray-Boyles had a game-high 25 points for the Gamecocks (10-6, 0-3), who were missing starting guards Myles Stute and Jamarii Thomas.

KEY STATS

• The Gamecocks were scoreless the final 5:18 of regulation after taking a 1-point lead, 63-62, on a layup by junior guard Zachary Davis. The Tigers only remaining field goal the final 5:18 came on Cardwell’s dunk with 1:32 to go in what was a defensive battle down the stretch.

NOTABLES

• After two tough games to start league play, sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles was the best player on the floor today finishing with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) shooting.
• It’s the fourth time in his career (second this season and third time for career in an SEC game) he’s made double-digit field goals. Murray-Boyles added seven rebounds, two assists and a steal as well.
• Redshirt freshman guard Arden Conyers provided a huge spark off the bench, scoring a career-high 13 points in a career-high 31 minutes. He went 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
• Graduate forward Nick Pringle finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season (eighth career).
• The Tigers came into today No. 5 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 87.9 points per game. Carolina held them to a season-low 66 points. They entered today scoring less than 80 points just three times in 15 games.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks hit the road for a pair of league games next week traveling to Vanderbilt (13-2, 1-1 SEC) Wednesday and No. 17/16 Oklahoma (13-2, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday. Tipoff in Nashville is slated for 6 p.m. (ET)on SEC Network with Dave Neal (pxp) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call.

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