MBB: Gamecocks beat Mississippi State behind Carrera's career night

Photo Gallery by Paul Collins and Chris Gillespie

South Carolina defeated Mississippi State 84-74 at Colonial Life Arena Tuesday night as Michael Carrera had a career game with 34 points and 15 rebounds.

South Carolina was sloppy to start the game, committing turnovers on two of its first three possessions and quickly falling behind 5-1. But the Gamecocks settled down and rattled off a 19-4 run to take the lead for good. During that span, it was Mississippi State that had trouble taking care of the ball, and it committed seven turnovers.

The Gamecocks led by as much as 11 in the first half, but the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to five late in the half. But, as he did all night, Carrera came up with the key play. He made a long jumper at the halftime buzzer to give the Gamecocks a 43-34 halftime lead.

The second half was all about Carrera. South Carolina quickly stretched its lead out to 14 and looked poised to turn the game into a rout. Mississippi State's guards got hot and shot them to a 14-3 run to get back in the game. With the lead trimmed to 53-50, Carrera drew a foul and made both free throws. Two possessions later, he nailed a heat-check three and South Carolina once again had breathing room.

Carrera surpassed his previous career high with that three, and kept adding to it. USC head coach Frank Martin joked that his assistants would fire him if he did not keep feeding Carrera the ball. The game plan was to post the power forwards (Mindaugas Kacinas or Carrera) to take advantage of Mississippi State's undersized forwards, and Carrera executed it to perfection. He scored eight straight at one point, and 13 of South Carolina's final 27 points. Carrera went 12-15 from the free throw line to help secure the win, setting career-highs for makes and attempts. He also tied his career-high with 15 rebounds and set a season-high with three blocks.

"It was just my day," Carrera said. "I was just trying to get open shots and shots we always practice. I was just making them today."

"He's as tough as anybody you will ever see," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said. "He personally took it to us. He's a great player."

Carrera was so hot he even called substitutions. He went to the bench around the nine-minute mark for a breather. On the next possessions, Laimonas Chatkevicius committed a turnover. Carrera grabbed Martin and told him to put him back in the game.

"I just wanted to be in the game," Carrera said. "I felt like it was my day today and I was like, 'Coach, you've got to put me back in!'"

"I'm ecstatic for Mike because he's worked so hard," Martin said. "I'm ecstatic for his willingness to lead and take on the responsibility of doing what good players do."

"What a great teammate," he said.

Sindarius Thornwell bounced back from two horrendous games with a solid outing. He made a three early that seemed to boost his confidence. He finished with 15 points on 4-9 shooting, four rebounds, and two assists. Thornwell also was much more effective driving the ball, and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.

"He's had a bad 10-12 day period and his approach has been bad, and he knows it," Martin said. "When your approach is bad, you're not going to play well. When you're a good player, you can't wait to get an opportunity to (play) again."

Behind Carrera, the Gamecocks dominated the glass. They nearly doubled up the Bulldogs with a 51-26 advantage. Mindaugas Kacinas joined Carrera in double figure rebounding with 10. The Gamecocks had 18 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance points.

"It's hard to win when you get beat on the boards by 25," Howland said.

South Carolina also attempted 41 free throws, making 27. Despite shooting only 66 percent from the line, it still made more free throws than the 23 Mississippi State attempted.

"When we shoot free throws and we rebound, we're good," Martin said. "Those are the two things I look at when I pick up a stat sheet."

Along with the poor free throw shooting, Martin was also disappointed in turnovers. South Carolina committed 18 turnovers that led to 22 Mississippi State points.

"We commit the worst turnovers of any team I've ever coached," Martin said. "Turnovers and missed free throws are going to cost us."

I.J. Ready led the Bulldogs with 20 points, despite briefly leaving the game in the second half with an ankle injury. Quinndary Weatherspoon added 19, and Malik Newman had 15.

Notes:

This week is Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Both coaching staffs wore sneakers with their suits during the game. South Carolina's coaching staff also wore gold shoelaces to promote awareness of pediatric cancer. ... Eric Cobb played four minutes in the second half. He was fouled twice, but missed all four free throws. He is now 0-14 from the free throw line this season. ... Chris Silva has made several highlight reel plays this season, but he was on the wrong end of one in the first half. Weatherspoon stole the ball from Silva and then dunked the ball over him while drawing the foul. Silva finished with three points, five rebounds, and four fouls. ... Duane Notice had 13 points off the bench. ... Attendance was 12,764. ... South Carolina returns to action Saturday against Alabama.