·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) —ÌýÌýhad a clutch steal and hit four free throws in the final seconds to allow ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ to hold off Mississippi State 68-62 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.

Johnson scored 15 of his team-high 24 points over the final 11 minutes, hitting 8 of 8 from the free throw line with a key steal and an assist to help hold off the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State never led in the second half but tied the game at 42 onÌý‘ jumper with 11:51 to play. The Gamecocks responded with aÌýÌýjumper and Johnson hit 2 of 3 from the line and followed up with a 3 in a 9-0 run with just under 10 minutes left.

Ìýturned a four-point play with 22 seconds left to get the Bulldogs within 64-62.ÌýTa’Lon CooperÌýdrew a foul with :17 left but missed both free throws.ÌýÌýpulled in the rebound, but Johnson forced Dashawn Davis to pick up his dribble well behind the 3-point line, then stole the ball and drew a foul with :07 left. His two free throws made it a two-possession game, then he added two more to set the final score.

Johnson hit 6 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 7 from behind the arc, and was 9 of 11 from the line to finish with 24 points.ÌýÌýadded 15 points. ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ (13-1, 1-0) hit 21 of 52 from the field (40.4%) and was 18 of 26 from the line. The Gamecocks had a 35-26 advantage on the boards and scored 16 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.

Mississippi State (11-3, 0-1) was 25 of 52 from the field (48.1%), but hit just 3 of 13 from distance and was 9 of 14 from the line.ÌýÌýand Hubbard both scored 13 points off the bench to lead the Bulldogs.ÌýÌýhad 10 points.

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ plays at Alabama on Tuesday. Mississippi State plays host to No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday.

KEY STAT

• Junior guard Meechie Johnson led all scorers with 24 points on 50.0 percent shooting (6-for-12) including 9-of-11 from the free throw line. It marks Johnson’s 12^th double-figure scoring game this season and his eighth leading the team in points. Johnson nailed the last four free throws of the game with both pairs coming inside the final 7 seconds.

NOTABLES

• Junior guard Myles Stute provided big minutes, scoring 15 points on an efficient 6-of-11 from the floor including three triples. It marks his 10^th double figure scoring game this season (team 10-0 when he scores 10+). Stute also grabbed six boards in 29 minutes of action for Carolina.
• Graduate guard Ta’Lon Cooper led ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ with seven dimes to just one turnover. Cooper game into the game ranked seventh nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. He now has six games this season with 5+ assists and 10 games with one or no turnovers.
• Sophomore guard Zachary Davis and freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles provided vital minutes off the bench for Carolina. The duo of Davis (9) and Murray-Boyles (8) combined for 17 points on an efficient 6-of-8 from the floor.
• Carolina is now 8-2 in games where Meechie Johnson scores 20 or more points.
• The win snaps a three-game skid to the Bulldogs that dates back to the team’s opening game of the 2022 SEC Tournament.
• In four all-time SEC openers against Mississippi State, Carolina is now 1-3 against the Bulldogs. The Gamecocks improve to 13-20 alll-time in league openers with today’s victory.
• The last SEC opening win for Carolina was a 78-54 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday, Jan. 6 during the team’s COVID season.
• The victory today also marks the team’s first 10-game home win streak since the 2015-16 season when the team started the year 13-0 at home. That tied the longest win streak since the 1997-98 team won 13-in-a-row at home.
• Today marks the sixth 13-1 start in program history (1933-34, 1944-45, 1969-70, 2003-04, 2015-16 and 2023-24).

UP NEXT

Carolina (13-1, 1-0 SEC) hits the road for a pair of games next week, first traveling to Alabama (8-5) on Tuesday night. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network. Dave Neal (pxp) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will be on the call for the broadcast. The Gamecocks are then at Missouri (8-6, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday.

###