Johnson Hits Game-Winning 3 to Lift South Carolina Over Ole Miss, 64-61

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Meechie Johnson scored 17 points and hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift South Carolina over Ole Missi, 64-61, on Saturday.

South Carolina (13-18, 4-14 SEC) led 34-28 at halftime and held the advantage for much of the second half before the Rebels rallied to tie the game in the final minute.

Ole Miss (12-19, 4-14 SEC), which has lost 12 of its last 13 games, pulled even at 61 when Malik Dia converted a tip-in with one minute remaining. South Carolina went more than five minutes without a field goal before Johnson delivered the game-winner from well beyond the arc as time expired.

Kobe Knox and Nordin Kapic each scored 12 points for the Gamecocks. It was Kapic’s second straight game in double figures coming off the bench.

Dia led Ole Miss with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. AJ Storr added 13 points for the Rebels. Ole Miss struggled from long distance, making just 1 of 14 attempts from 3-point range.

KEY STAT

• The Gamecocks defense held Ole Miss to 1-of-14 (7.1%) from behind the arc on its home floor.
• Carolina in-turn hit nine 3s on the offensive end with Johnson going 3-of-7 from behind the arc.

NOTABLES

• Johnson played hero in Oxford as he continued his standout play leading the Gamecocks again with 17 points (13 in the second half), four assists and four rebounds.
• The Cleveland, Ohio native now has 17 consecutive games in double-figures. He’s scored 10 or more a team-leading 25 times this season and is averaging a career-best 17.3 points per game. He averaged 19.7 points per game in 18 SEC contests this season.
• Nordin Kapic had another solid outing with a team-high 12 points (10 in the first half) off the bench. It was his second-straight game in double-figures. Kapic was 2-of-5 from behind the arc.
• Kobe Knox also got into double-figures with 12 points and six rebounds.
• Eli Ellis matched his season high with five assists to just one turnover in 28 minutes off the bench. It was his first SEC game with five or more helpers.
• Mike Sharavjamts had a team-high nine rebounds as the Gamecocks out-rebounded Ole Miss, 34-31.
• Head coach Lamont Paris improves to 3-0 at SJB Pavilion in his four seasons leading the Gamecocks with today’s win. It was the team’s fourth-straight victory in Oxford dating back to James Reese V’s buzzer beater in a 77-74 overtime win on the road against the Rebels back on Feb. 15, 2022. It’s the first four-game, road win streak by either team all-time in 51 matchups between Carolina and Ole Miss.
• The Gamecocks improve to 13-1 this season when leading at halftime with today’s victory in Oxford.

UP NEXT
South Carolina heads to Nashville next week for the 2026 SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks will take the court on Wednesday with seeds 14 or 15 in play pending the results of Saturday night’s LSU versus Texas A&M game in Baton Rouge. A win by the Tigers would give the Gamecocks the No. 15 seed and a loss would mean Carolina is the No. 14 seed. The 14 (faces No. 11) and 15 (faces No. 10) seeds will play in the night session. The full bracket for the 2026 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament can be found here and will be finalized with matchups after the conclusion of tonight’s games.

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