When in doubt, making shots solves everything.

South Carolina men’s basketball’s worst offensive stretch of the year saw only one player — Collin Murray-Boyles — make a field goal the first 13 minutes of the game and the team trail by as many as 11 against East Carolina — but got red hot from beyond the arc to escape trouble and eventually pull away for a 75-68 win.

"That's why they play 40 minutes," Lamont Paris said. "We just couldn't get it together in the first half, really on either side of it."

After starting the game 0-of-5 from beyond the arc and falling behind 18-7 against the Pirates, South Carolina (6-3) knocked down 11 of its next 16 attempts from beyond the arc to erase the deficit and send East Carolina (7-3) home with a loss to the Gamecocks for the second consecutive season.

For most of the first half, Murray-Boyles was the only source of offense. A stagnant, slow, lackluster performance from the home team saw Paris show visible frustration at several offensive possessions, and at one point point guard Jamarii Thomas was shouting for more off ball movement during a particularly stationary, eventually empty trip up the floor.

He was far from the only one shouting within a disgruntled home crowd.

East Carolina went into halftime with a five-point lead with visions of an upset — and a Q4 loss for South Carolina — looking strong, but one run flipped the game. South Carolina scored 16 consecutive points early in the second half, turning up the defensive intensity and holding the visitors off the scoreboard for over six minutes.

"In reality what allowed us to make the comeback so quickly was defensively I think they scored two points in that stretch," Paris said. "We played better. We generated high quality shots. We made a bunch of them from three, but for the most part they were high quality shots. I was happy with that."

It started with six straight Murray-Boyles points, but Thomas quickly got it going alongside him. The Norfolk State transfer finished the game with his Gamecock high 22 points, and the five 3-pointers he made tied his college career high. He hit three of those five in the second half, including two in short succession to grow the lead midway through the frame.

"It's just playing basketball the right way," Thomas said. "I'm not forcing anything, and I'm not looking to be too overly aggressive. I'm just playing my role."

Sophomore Morris Ugusuk continued his sharpshooting start to the season by hitting three more 3-pointers, giving him 17 for the season after the guard knocked down 14 the entirety of last season.

And of course, Murray-Boyles was perfect. Literally. He attempted 10 field goals, and knocked down all of them. It was his second 20-point game of the season and seventh scoring at least 15. And he secured another double-double when he clutched two rebounds in the final minute, just getting in under the wire with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Per South Carolina's sports information staff, Murray-Boyles became just the third player in program history to make at least 10 field goals without a miss.

Far from a perfect game, but a perfect performance from the team’s superstar.

South Carolina has a week off for final exams, and will be back at home next Saturday against USC Upstate.

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