Johnson, Knox Lead Balanced South Carolina by Oklahoma, 85-76

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Meechie Johnson scored 20 points and Kobe Knox scored 18 points and South Carolina beat Oklahoma 85-76 on Tuesday night and ended its three-game losing streak.

Johnson made 13 of 15 from the foul line and Knox went 7 of 11 from the floor. Elijah Strong scored 17 points, Miles Stute 10 and Mike Sharavjamts 10 for South Carolina (11-8, 2-4), which saw all five starters reach double figures in scoring.

Xzayvier Brown scored 22 points, Tae Davis scored 20 points and Derrion Reed 13 for Oklahoma (11-8, 1-5), which has dropped five straight.

The Gamecocks built an 11-0 lead and never trailed. Stute made a pair of foul shots with 7:26 before halftime and the Gamecocks doubled-up Oklahoma 28-14.

Oklahoma recovered and proceeded to outscore South Carolina 22-11 for the rest of the half to get within 39-36 at intermission. Mohamed Wague made 1 of 2 foul shots 59 seconds in to get Oklahoma within 51-47 but the Sooners never got closer.

KEY STATS

• The Gamecocks were efficient on offense from start-to-finish, shooting 49.1% (27-of-55) from the floor, 45.0% (9-of-20) from 3 and 22-of-28 at the free throw line (78.6%). Carolina averaged 1.197 points per possession tonight against the Sooners.
• The Gamecocks entered the game with the best 3-point defense in the SEC and that held true again tonight as Carolina limited Oklahoma, one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the league, to just 18.5% (5-of-27) from behind the arc.
• Tonight was the Gamecocks’ first game of the season when all five starters scored in double-figures.

NOTABLES

• Redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson had 20 points, knocking down 13-of-15 (career highs in both makes and attempts) from the charity stripe. He made nine-straight free throws to end the game in the final 2:05.
• Johnson now has a team-high, four 20-point games this season (18 career).
• Redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox had a season-high 18 points while also leading the team with seven rebounds. He was 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the floor.
• Junior forward Elijah Strong chipped in 17 points, five boards and three assists. He started the game on an 11-0 run himself the first 2:30, hitting a trio of 3s, forcing an early Oklahoma timeout.
• Graduate guard Myles Stute (11) and senior guard Mike Sharavjamts (10) both scored in double-figures as well. Stute also had six rebounds and two steals. Sharavjamts led the team with five assists.
• The Gamecocks now improve to 18-2 over the last three seasons when Stute scores 10 or more points. Carolina moves to 11-2 in games where he makes three or more triples.
• South Carolina moves to 20-1 under Lamont Paris the last four seasons when scoring 85 or more points.
• Tonight marked Carolina’s second all-time victory over Oklahoma and first since an 80-59 win back on Dec. 6, 1975 at Carolina Coliseum.

UP NEXT
South Carolina is back on the road for a Saturday tilt at Texas A&M (14-4, 4-1 SEC). Tip is set for 3:30 p.m. (ET) at Reed Arena with Doug Sherman (pxp) and Scott Williams (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.

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