Gamecocks Fall in SEC Opener at No. 17/16 Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 21 points and Claudell Harris had 17 points and nine rebounds as No. 17 Mississippi State beat South Carolina 85-50 on Saturday in the SEC opener for both teams.
Mississippi State (13-1) opened the game with a 15-2 run and limited South Carolina to 18 points in the first half. That was the lowest point total allowed by the Bulldogs in SEC play under coach Chris Jans. The Bulldogs closed out the first half with a 10-0 outburst and led 43-18 at the break.

Riley Kugel scored 12 points and KeShawn Murphy contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots as Mississippi State won its seventh straight game.

Zachary Davis scored 22 points and Collin Murray-Boyles was held to five points on 2-for-9 shooting for South Carolina (10-4).

South Carolina shot 29% (16 for 55) and was 2 for 19 from 3-point distance. The Gamecocks had 14 turnovers and shot 16 for 23 from the line.

Mississippi State shot 56% (35 for 62) from the field and outrebounded the Gamecocks 40-32.

KEY STATS

• The Bulldogs had a 52-24 points in the paint advantage.

NOTABLES

• The Gamecocks saw the team’s seven-game win streak (dated back to Nov. 25 win over Virginia Tech) come to an end on Saturday and Humphrey Coliseum.
• Junior guard Zachary Davis scored a career-high 22 points in what was the first 20-point game of his three seasons in Garnet and Black.
• Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles had a team-high 10 rebounds, marking his fifth (eighth career) double-digit rebounding game of the season.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks return home, welcoming in a pair of top-10 teams in No. 5/6 Alabama (11-2) and No. 2/2 Auburn (11-1). Carolina will first face the Crimson Tide Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network. Dave Neal (pxp)and Ron Slay (analyst) will be on the call for the Gamecocks’ SEC home opener.

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