Johnson's Career Night Rallies Gamecocks Past Southern Miss

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Meechie Johnson scored 14 of his career-high 33 points in the final 3:39 of regulation and South Carolina rallied to beat Southern Mississippi 83-79 in overtime on Sunday night.

Israel Hart hit a jumper to give Southern Miss its largest lead at 65-54 with 3:50 left in regulation before Johnson took over. He hit four 3-pointers in a row and then made two free throws with 5 seconds left to tie it at 70. Johnson accounted for all but two of the Gamecocks’ final 16 points in forcing OT.

Johnson didn’t score in the extra 5-minute period until making the first of two foul shots with 1:10 remaining for a 76-75 lead. Myles Stute followed with a 3-pointer for a two-possession lead with 32 seconds left. Johnson made two free throws 11 seconds later and the Gamecocks (2-0) held on. Johnson made 9 of 19 shots, including 7 of 14 from beyond the arc, and 8 of 11 free throws.

Freshman Eli Ellis had 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench for South Carolina and Mike Sharavjamts scored 17.

Isaac Taveras led the Golden Eagles (1-2) with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Tylik Weeks had 20 and seven boards, while Hart added 17 points with four rebounds and four assists off the bench.

The Golden Eagles grabbed their first lead at 41-38 on a Taveras 3-pointer with 17:37 left in regulation.

KEY STATS

• South Carolina took what the defensive gave it on Sunday night, hitting 16 of a school record 43 3-point field goal attempts. Five different players hit a shot from behind the arc for the Gamecocks led by Meechie Johnson, who was 7 of 14 from 3-point land.
• Thru two games, Carolina has hit 30 3s by 14 different players. The Gamecocks made double-digit 3s just five times all of last season.

NOTABLES

• It was a banner day for redshirt senior Meechie Johnson as he logged his first career 30-point outing, scoring a game-high 33 points. His seven made 3s in the game are also a career-high.
• Highly-touted freshman guard Eli Ellis recorded his first 20-point performance, scoring all 20 bench points for the Gamecocks. He was 3-of-6 from distance and 7-of-8 at the free throw line hitting several crucial foul shots down the stretch. Ellis also led the team with seven rebounds.
• South Carolina improves to 14-0 under head coach Lamont Paris when scoring 80 or more points. Paris’ teams are 46-4 (.920 win percentage) in his nine seasons as a head coach when scoring more than 80 points.
• The Gamecocks recorded 18 assists on 25 made field goals. Thru two games, South Carolina has assisted on 42 of its 54 made shots (77.8%).
• Senior transfer guard Mike Sharavjamts had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and a team-high two steals. It marked his first double-figure outing (28^th career) in Garnet and Black.
• Redshirt senior transfer guard Kobe Knox led the team with five assists to just one turnover.
• Freshman forward Hayden Assemian did not record a shot but provided 22 big minutes off the bench grabbing six rebounds. He led the team in +/- finishing +19.

UP NEXT

South Carolina (2-0) remains home for its third game of a four-game homestand to open the season. The Gamecocks face Presbyterian (2-1) at 7 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday night at Colonial Life Arena. Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) are on the call for the SEC Network+ broadcast.

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