Murray-Boyles Double-Double Powers Gamecocks to 84-69 Win Over Texas

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Collin Murray-Boyles scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out and South Carolina put an emphatic end to a 13-game losing streak by knocking off Texas 84-69 on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (11-16, 1-13), who lost their first 13 Southeastern Conference games, turned in an impressive performance against a team that had just knocked off No. 15 Kentucky in its last outing, building a double-digit lead early and extending it to as many as 22 points in the second half.

Murray-Boyles scored eight of South Carolina’s first 10 points and after Jacobi Wright knocked down a 3 with 8:23 left their lead reached 20-10 and was up 40-22 at the break, its largest halftime lead of the season. Nick Pringle dunked a minute into the second half to push the lead to 20 and Zachary Davis dunked 20 seconds later to make it a 22-point advantage.

Texas (16-11, 5-9) never an answer to an aggressive South Carolina defense, even after Murray-Boyles fouled out with 4:23 left. Tramon Mark knocked down a corner 3 with just under four minutes left to cut the Longhorns’ deficit to 12 points, but they could get no closer. South Carolina scored 10 straight points from the free-throw line.

Jamarii Thomas converted 12 of 13 shots from the free-throw line and finished with 15 points for South Carolina. Davis hit 6 of 8 and added 12 points and Morris Ugusuk was 3 of 3 from distance and added 10 points.

Tre Johnson shot 11 of 21 from the field and was 4 for 4 from the line to score 29 points for Texas but was the lone Longhorn to reach double figures.

KEY STATS

• The Gamecocks hit 34 free throws, a new high in the Lamont Paris era at South Carolina. The last time the Gamecocks made 30 or more free throws in a game was on Feb. 7, 2017 in a four overtime thriller against Alabama (made 35 foul shots).
• Carolina had just eight turnovers and only had two giveaways in the first half when it built up its lead. The eight turnovers tied a season low (had eight vs. USC Upstate and vs. No. 19/23 Ole Miss) in the category.

NOTABLES

• Sophomore Forward Collin Murray-Boyles had his second-straight double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. It’s his eighth 20-point game of the season and his eighth double-double, both single-season, career high marks. He added three blocks and three assists. The SEC’s field goal percentage leader was an efficient 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the field tonight against the Longhorns.

• Senior transfer guard Jamarii Thomas was in double figures again, finishing with 15 points. He did his damage at the free throw line, connecting on 12-of-13 (92.3%) shots at the charity stripe. It’s the second time this season he’s made double-digit free throws (was 10-of-12 against No. 14/14 Mississippi State on Jan. 25).
• Junior guard Zachary Davis (12) and sophomore guard Morris Ugusuk (10) were also in double figures for Carolina. Davis was 3-for-3 from the floor and added five rebounds and two steals, leading the team in plus/minus at +24. Ugusuk was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, all in the final 9 minutes of the game. It’s the ninth time this season he’s made three or more 3s in a game.
• The Gamecocks improve to 9-3 this season when holding opponents below 70 points. Carolina is 39-9 (.813 win percentage) the past three seasons under Paris when the team allows less than 70 points.
• Carolina improves to 12-0 (5-0 this season) under Lamont Paris when scoring 80 or more points the last three seasons. Paris’ teams are 44-4 (.917 win percentage) in his eight seasons as a head coach when scoring 80 or more points.
• The victory was Paris’ first win over Texas as a head coach and the program’s second win ever over the Longhorns (beat Texas 74-70 on Dec. 23, 1980 in the first all-time meeting between the schools at Carolina Coliseum).
• Tonight marked the team’s first Quad 2 win of the season (0-2 in previous Quad 2 opportunities vs. Xavier and at LSU). The team has played 14 Quad 1 games in its 27 contests so far this season.

UP NEXT

Carolina hits the road to face its 13th top-25 opponent of the season at No. 15/16 Missouri (20-7, 9-5 SEC) on Tuesday night. Kevin Fitzgerald (pxp) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will be on the call for the ESPNU broadcast.
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