South Carolina leads wire-to-wire to beat LSU, 82-73

BATON ROUGE, La. – A season-high 15 triples from the Gamecocks propelled them to their third SEC road victory of the season 82-73, over LSU in Baton Rouge.

Four Carolina starters combined for 74 of the 82 Gamecock points scored. Meechie Johnson and Gregory “GG” Jackson II led the way with 20 each for Carolina. Jacobi Wright added a new career-high 18, and Hayden Brown scored 16.

Carolina shot 50.0 percent (8-for-16) from three in the first half and jumped out to a 36-31, halftime lead. Balanced offensive scoring in the second half helped extend their lead to 13 and the Gamecocks completed their second SEC wire-to-wire victory of the season.

The Gamecocks as a team shot 94.4 percent from the free throw line and dished 20 assists on 25 made baskets. LSU was able to muster just 33.3 percent from three (7-for-21) and just 53.8 percent (14-for-26) from the charity strike. Cam Hayes led all scorers for LSU with a game high 25 on (8-for-15) shooting.

The win marks the third in conference play for the garnet and black (all on the road). It also marks the first career win for head coach Lamont Paris against the Tigers. It is the first win for South Carolina at LSU since a 88-63 victory on Feb. 1 2017, during the historic final four season.

KEY STAT

• South Carolina made a season-high 15 3s, shooting 46.9 percent (15-for-32). It marks their most made triples since Jan. 24, 2017, when they made 15 at home against Auburn.

NOTABLES

• Meechie Johnson and Gregory “GG” Jackson II led Gamecock scorers with 20 points each. Johnson shot 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from distance and Jackson II made four triples, and went (6-for-6) at the free throw line in the game.
• Four Gamecock starters scored in double-figures: Johnson (20), Jackson II (20), Jacobi Wright (18) and Hayden Brown (16). The group accounted for 74 of Carolina’s 82 points.
• Jackson II led the Gamecocks with eight rebounds, and Johnson led the team with six assists.
• Wright scored a new career high 18 points, surpassing his previous high of 17 against Ole Miss last Saturday (Feb. 11) in Oxford. The sophomore guard made a new career-high five 3s and shot 62.5 percent (5-for-8) from deep.
• The last time the Gamecocks had multiple players make five 3s was the same guy against the Tigers (1/24/17). Carolina greats Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell each made five in the game.
• Carolina shot a new season-high 94.4 percent (17-for-18) from the charity stripe. It is their highest percentage in an SEC road game since shooting 100% (11-for-11) against Vanderbilt in Nashville on Jan. 28, 2004.
• Three players dished out four plus assists: Johnson (6), Brown (4), and Bosmans-Verdonk (4). The team tallied 20 total assists on 25 made field goals for the game.

UP NEXT

Carolina (10-17, 3-11 SEC) has a pair of top-10 games next week, first squaring off with No. 1/1 Alabama (22-4, 12-1 SEC) at 9 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2. Mike Morgan (pxp) and Seth Greenberg (analyst) will be on the call for the broadcast. The Gamecocks then head to Knoxville on Saturday to face No. 10/11 Tennessee (20-7, 9-5 SEC).

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