Gamecocks Rout Florida A&M in Non-Con Finale, 94-62

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Collin Murray-Boyles scored 17 points, Myles Stute added 16 and South Carolina rolled to a 94-62 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday.

South Carolina (12-1) is 8-0 at home and won its fifth straight game since its 72-67 loss to then-No. 24 Clemson on Dec. 6.

Murray-Boyles was 5-of-6 from the floor and made 7-of-8 free throws. Stute shot 5-of-10 overall and was 4-of-9 shooting from long range. Meechie Johnson and Morris Ugusuk added 11 points apiece for the Gamecocks, who shot 48% (30-of-62) from the floor and made 24-of-28 (86%) free throws.

Ja’Derryus Eatmon scored 14 points and Keith Lamar had 13 for Florida A&M (2-9).

Stute made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points and Ugusuk added nine points on three 3s in the first half to help South Carolina build a 49-21 lead at the break. The Gamecocks shot 52% (16-of-31) from the floor and made 8 of 15 from long range in the half.

South Carolina begins Southeastern Conference play on Saturday hosting Mississippi State.

Florida A&M plays at Bethune-Cookman in a Southwestern Athletic Conference opener on Saturday.

KEY STAT

• South Carolina used a 30-2 run over the final 10:14 of the first half to take 28-point lead into the break. Carolina went 10-of-17 from the floor during the run, shooting at a 58.8 percent clip.

NOTABLES

• Freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles recorded a new career-high 17 points on an efficient 5-of-6 from the floor including 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. It marks his second game scoring in double figures and his first leading the Gamecocks in points.
• Five Gamecocks scored in double figures: Murray-Boyles (17), Myles Stute (16), Meechie Johnson (11), Morris Ugusuk (11), and Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk (10). Ugusuk and Bosmans-Verdonk each recorded new career-highs in scoring while notching the first double figure games of their careers.
• Graduate forward Stephen Clark led the Garnet and Black with nine rebounds. It is Clark’s first game this season leading the team on the glass.
• Junior guard Meechie Johnson led the Gamecocks with six assists. It is Johnson’s third game this season with five or more dimes and his fourth leading the team in helpers.
• Carolina received key minutes from their bench which recorded 52 points to just 24 for the Rattler reserves, a plus-28 advantage in the game. The team’s 52 bench points mark a new season high surpassing the previous one of 27 against DePaul back on Nov. 17.
• The 94 points scored by South Carolina are a new season high and are the most in a game in the Lamont Paris era in Columbia. The previous high of 89 came against George Washington in a blowout victory back on Dec. 1.
• South Carolina is now 8-3 under head coach Lamont Paris when the team makes 10 or more 3s.
• The Gamecocks also had 21 assists today, a new high under Paris surpassing the previous high of 20 set last year in the team’s road win at LSU on Feb. 18, 2023.
• The victory today marks the sixth 12-1 start in program history (1933-34, 1944-45, 1969-70, 2003-04, 2015-16, and 2023-24).
• The 32-point win is the first 30-point victory for Carolina since a 105-75 rout of Army on Dec. 22, 2021.
• The win also marks the team’s first nine-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

Carolina (12-1) opens the conference slate at home against Mississippi State (10-2) in a nationally televised game Jan. 6 on CBS. John Sadak (pxp) and Steve Lappas (analyst) will be on the call. It’ll mark the first appearance for the duo at Colonial Life Arena.

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