South Carolina fell behind early and never led, falling to Ole Miss 84-70. South Carolina got big games from Jermaine Couisnard and Maik Kotsar, but little else, and Breein Tyree scored 38.
South Carolina was without Justin Minaya, the Gamecocks’ best defender and do-everything player. His absence couldn’t have been felt much worse. South Carolina struggled from three, struggled to rebound, and struggled to slow down Tyree, three areas where Minaya contributes the most.
Ole Miss got off to a fast start, and led 8-0 before South Carolina got on the scoreboard. South Carolina responded with a 10-3 run, but Ole Miss called a timeout to slow momentum. The Rebels responded with a 9-0 run, establishing a pattern that would play out several times over the course of the game. South Carolina would go on a run to cut into Ole Miss’ lead, and then Ole Miss would answer with another run.
Ole Miss finally put South Carolina away with about eight minutes left. Couisnard hit a three to cut the lead to eight. After a miss, he got another look at an open three in transition, but missed. Ole Miss scored the next four points, and went on a 13-3 run.
Couisnard scored a career-high 28 points, including 9-13 from the free throw line, and for a while in the second have he and Tyree were matching baskets. Kotsar had another fantastic game with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and three steals. But they got almost no help. Couisnard and Kotsar combined for 47 points, while the rest of the Gamecocks combined for just 23. Keyshawn Bryant finished with eight points, but AJ Lawson had just five on 2-10 shooting, and Jair Bolden was scoreless. As a team, the Gamecocks shot just 41 percent.
On the other end, the Rebels had a field day. They shot 47 percent and were plus-10 rebounding, and nobody could guard Tyree. The Gamecocks tried man-to-man matchups and zone, but had no luck with either. Tyree was 12-21 from the floor and 11-13 from the line.
