No. 14 Mississippi State works overtime to down South Carolina

Riley Kugel scored 15 points and Keyshawn Murphy had 13 as No. 14 Mississippi State held off South Carolina 65-60 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C. Josh Hubbard added 12 points and Michael Nwoko and Claudell Harris Jr. had 11 each for the Bulldogs (16-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), who never trailed. Jamarii Thomas returned from a four-game absence due to a knee injury and scored 19 points, Arden Conyers had 12 and Collin Murray-Boyles added 10 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Gamecocks (10-10, 0-7), who finished regulation with a 19-5 run. Harris made a layup to start the scoring in overtime then Conyers made two free throws to tie the score with 2:04 left. The Bulldogs regained the lead when Hubbard made two free throws and Harris added two with 33 seconds left. Thomas made a free throw to trim the Bulldogs' lead to three and the Gamecocks made a steal with 8 seconds left. Murray-Boyles missed two free throws and South Carolina rebounded but lost the ball out of bounds. Kugel made four free throws in the final 4 seconds. Nwoko scored the Bulldogs' first three points of the second half, and Murphy added a basket that pushed the lead to 37-27. The Gamecocks scored the next three points, but Murphy converted a three-point play and Kugel followed with a 3-pointer that expanded the lead to 43-30. Mississippi State twice led by 14 before Thomas had four points during an 8-0 run that pulled the Gamecocks within six. Harris made a 3-pointer to stop the run, but South Carolina scored seven straight to get within 53-51. MSU scored the first five points of the game on its way to a 13-5 lead. South Carolina pulled even, but the Bulldogs scored the next five points. The Gamecocks closed within one point twice before MSU used a 7-0 finishing run for a 28-20 halftime lead. --Field Level Media