South Carolina Fends Off Missouri on Senior Night

COLUMBIA—The South Carolina men’s basketball team defeated Missouri, 73-69, on Tuesday night at Colonial Life Arena.
 
Jermaine Couisnard and Devin Carter led the way for the Gamecocks (18-11, 9-8 SEC) with 17 points apiece. Carter also collected a team-high eight rebounds, nearly capturing his second career double-double.
 
Javon Pickett scored 23 points for Missouri. Pickett’s performance was tied for the third-highest scoring game from an opposing individual this season.
 
After stretching the lead to eight points with 4:38 remaining, the Tigers (10-20, 4-13) would not go away, cutting the Gamecocks’ lead to as little as one point in the final minutes. 
 
Carter scored eight crucial points in the final 4:38 for Carolina to help it seal its fifth win in six games.
 
James Reese V also got into double figures for the Gamecocks. He put up 13 points on a 4-for-7 shooting night.
 
Erik Stevenson and Keyshawn Bryant both added nine points on their senior nights. Wildens Leveque had a career high in blocks with four.
 
The Gamecocks travel to Auburn, Alabama, to face off against No. 5/5 Auburn at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The game will air on SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald and Dane Bradshaw on the call.

KEY STATS
> Carolina shot 38 percent from the floor compared to Missouri’s 40 percent clip on Tuesday night. It’s the third time this season the Gamecocks have won when shooting worse from the field than their opponent.
> The Gamecocks won the battle on the boards, collecting 40 rebounds compared to the Tigers’ 39 rebounds. Carolina is 15-3 on the season when outrebounding its opponent.
> The Gamecocks outscored Missouri on the fast break by a margin of 16-8.
> Carolina had three players in double figures on Tuesday night. Jermaine Couisnard (17), Devin Carter (17) and James Reese V (13) all scored in double digits.
> The Gamecock bench outscored the Tigers’ bench 25-13.
> Javon Pickett scored 23 points for Missouri. His performance tied for the third-most points from an opposing player this season.

NOTABLES
> Jermaine Couisnard scored 17 points for the Gamecocks. Over the last four games, Couisnard has scored an average of 21.25 points per game.
> Couisnard also made six field goals on Tuesday night. He has made four or more field goals in Carolina’s last seven games. He is averaging six made field goals per game in the last seven games.
> Devin Carter scored 17 points on Tuesday night. He has scored in double figures in four of Carolina’s last six games.
> Carter went 5-for-10 from the floor. It marked the 14^th game this season that Carter has made at least half of his field goal attempts.
> Wildens Leveque had a career high in blocks with four. It was Leveque’s 14^th career game with multiple blocks.

UP NEXT
> South Carolina heads to No. 5/5 Auburn (25-4, 13-3 SEC) on Saturday to conclude the regular season. Kevin Fitzgerald and Dane Bradshaw will be on-site for the 1 p.m. (ET) SEC Network broadcast.

###