Gamecocks Comeback Bid Falls Shy to Northwestern at Greenbrier Tip-Off

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. (AP) — Nick Martinelli had 25 points before notching an assist on Arrinten Page’s layup in the final second and Northwestern survived a late rally by South Carolina to post a 79-77 victory on Sunday in the Mountain Division of the Greenbrier Tip-Off.

South Carolina was down two with just over seven minutes remaining when Grant Polk missed a 3-point shot. Max Green hit from deep at the other end and then scored off a steal by Page. Justin Mullins followed with a dunk and Green scored off another Gamecocks turnover to finish a 9-0 run for a 71-60 advantage with 5:30 left to play.

Meechie Johnson scored seven straight points for South Carolina and Elijah Strong made two free throws with 1:44 remaining to cap a 15-4 spurt and tie it at 75-all. Martinelli hit a jumper for the lead, but Mike Sharavjamts sank two free throws to knot the score with 28 seconds left.

Martinelli made 8 of 17 shots with two 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws for the Wildcats (5-1). Green hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 off the bench. Page pitched in with 10 points and six assists.

Strong led the Gamecocks (4-2) with 16 points off the bench. Johnson scored 15 points, while Sharavjamts had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Martinelli had eight points as Northwestern took a 36-34 lead into halftime.

The Gamecocks opened the event with a 79-72 loss to Butler, while the Wildcats’ lost to Virginia 83-78.

KEY STATS

• Northwestern scored 20 fastbreak points a number of which came on uncontested transition opportunities.
• Carolina trailed by only two at the break despite going just 3-of-14 (21.4%) from behind the arc the opening 20 minutes.

NOTABLES .

• Junior transfer forward Elijah Strong scored a season-high 16 points off the bench to lead the Gamecocks. He also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals in a solid all-around performance. Strong was +14 in 20 minutes of action tonight.
• Redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson had 15 points, 12 coming in the second half. He led the team with five assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes of run. It’s Johnson’s 19^th career game (second this season) with five or more helpers. He helped fuel a 9-0 run that tied the game at 75 with 1:44 to go.
• Senior transfer Mike Sharavjamts finished with 12 points, a team-high eight rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes. He was 7-of-8 at the free throw line. The 6-9 guard has led the team in rebounding in four of the first six games of the season.

UP NEXT
South Carolina (4-2) is off until a Black Friday tilt against Charleston Southern (4-3) on Nov. 28 at home. Tip is set for 4 p.m. (ET) with Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) on the call for SEC Network+ broadcast.

###