South Carolina defeated North Carolina 38-21 on Thursday, clinching its first bowl win since 2017.

The Gamecocks stuck first early in the first quarter thanks to a surprise throw from Dakereon Joyner. Prior to the attempt Joyner hadn't thrown a pass since the 2019 season and the 69 yard touchdown to Jaheim Bell was his first career touchdown pass.

Zeb Noland was expected to start for the Gamecocks but technically Joyner got the start under center, after Noland lined up at wide receiver for the first play.

In an uncharacteristic turn of events the Gamecocks were able to take advantage of its strong defensive play early, causing three straight three and outs.

Noland went back under center and found Bell running across the middle for Bell's second touchdown catch of the day, this time for 66 yards. After the touchdown, holder Kai Kroeger found tight end Nick Muse for the successful two point conversion, making it a 15-0 game.

The Gamecocks got the ball back and drove 54 yards down the field setting up a field goal from Parker White that let South Carolina take a 18-0 lead into the start of the second quarter.

The field goal helped White break former kicker Elliot Fry's record for most points scored in a career, giving him 360 and ultimately notching a few more thanks to dynamic offensive play and two more field goals.

Quarterback Sam Howell and the Tar Heel offense finally found some footing on its first drive of the second quarter. North Carolina put together a six play, 75 yard drive that was capped off with a 63 yard touchdown rush from British Brooks.

After a poor South Carolina drive, Howell and the Tar Heel offense started off on fire, completing two passes for a combined 57 yards. They ultimately settled for a 40 yard field goal, making the score 18-10.

On the ensuing drive the South Carolina offense drove 75 yards on six plays. Running back Juju McDowell scored on a 35 yard touchdown rush to put the Gamecocks up 25-10.

The South Carolina defense got a third down stop in the redzone at the end of the second quarter, leading North Carolina to settle for another field goal and go into halftime down 25-13.

Noland and Joyner were a combined 6-6 on passing during the first half, racking up 162 yards and two touchdowns.

Kevin Harris and McDowell carried the bulk of the first half running game, combining for 109 yards. The Gamecocks were averaging 7.1 yards per carry as a whole in the first half.

The third quarter saw the game slow down significantly for both teams. Both offenses only had two drives a piece, with both teams scoring a touchdown and punting.

South Carolina's touchdown came on a one yard rush from Harris and North Carolina's came on a trick play where Howell found Garrett Walston wide open for a 37 yard touchdown pass.

The game continued to slow down in the fourth quarter, with South Carolina clearly trying to drain the clock. It's first drive of the fourth quarter was an 11 play, 77 yard drive that drained just under six and a half minutes off the clock and ended with a 22 yard field goal, giving them a 35-21 lead.

The nail in the coffin for North Carolina was the Gamecocks final drive that lasted just over five minutes and was capped off by a 33 yard field goal from White.

Joyner finished the game with 224 total yards, 160 passing and 64 rushing. Harris exploded for 182 rushing yards on 31 Carrie’s.

The Gamecocks will go back to Columbia finishing with a 7-6 record in Shane Beamer's first season. Beamer becomes the first South Carolina coach since Brad Scott to win a bowl game in year one.

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