Cooper Guides South Carolina to a 70-43 victory over Elon

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Ta’Lon Cooper scored 17 points to lead South Carolina to a 70-43 victory over Elon on Friday night.

South Carolina has won four in a row and is off to an 11-1 start for the fourth time in program history. The Gamecocks have won eight straight at home, their longest streak since a 13-game run during the 2015-16 season.

Cooper made 7 of 11 shots with three 3-pointers for the Gamecocks. He added six rebounds and three assists. Myles Stute finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Jacobi Wright scored 10 with three assists. Freshman Collin Murray-Boyles scored a season-best 10 points off the bench.

Wright had eight points, Cooper scored seven and the pair accounted for half of South Carolina’s output in building a 30-20 lead at halftime. The Gamecocks shot 39.3% and made just 2 of 13 from 3-point range (15.4%). Elon shot 26.7% and hit 2 of 8 from distance.

Sam Sherry led the Phoenix (6-6) with 12 points, while Max Mackinnon scored 11.

South Carolina shot 41.3% overall and made 8 of 30 from beyond the arc (26.7%). Elon shot 32% and missed all six of its second-half shots from distance.

The Gamecocks snapped a two-game skid against the Phoenix, losing 65-53 at home in the last meeting in November 2012. They lead the series 3-2.

South Carolina’s only loss this season was a 72-67 setback at Clemson, which was ranked 24th at the time.

South Carolina will host Florida A&M on Dec. 30.

KEY STAT

• The Gamecock defense allowed a season low 43 points and a new career-low under head coach Lamont Paris surpassing the previous low of 53 against USC Upstate and Notre Dame on Nov. 6 and Nov. 28. Carolina held Elon to just 32.0 percent shooting (16-for-50) from the floor and just 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from three. The Phoenix came into tonight’s game averaging 83.8 points per game, which was 32^nd in the country.

NOTABLES

• Graduate guard Ta’Lon Cooper recorded a season-high with 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 from the field including three triples. It marks Cooper’s fourth double-figure scoring game of the season and his second game leading Carolina in points. Cooper added six rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes of action for Carolina.
• Freshman standout Collin Murray-Boyles provided vital minutes off the bench scoring a career-high 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting. It is Murray-Boyle’s first career game scoring in double digits for the Gamecocks.
• Four players scored in double figures for Carolina: Cooper (17), Myles Stute (14), Jacobi Wright (10), and Murray-Boyles (10).
• The Gamecocks are 7-0 the last two seasons under Paris when holding opponents to 60 points or less.
• The victory marks the sixth 11-1 start in program history (1933-34, 1944-45, 1969-70, 2003-04, 2015-16, and 2023-24).
• The win also marks the team’s first eight-game home win streak since the 2015-16 season when the team started the year 13-0 at home. That tied the longest home win streak since the 1997-98 team won 13-in-a-row at home.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks (11-1) will be off over the Christmas holiday and will return to the court on Dec. 30 against Florida A&M (2-8). It will be the team’s final non-conference matchup before starting SEC play on Jan. 6 at home against Mississippi State (9-2). Tip-off for the matchup against the Rattlers is set for 2 p.m. (ET) with Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) on the call.

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