Jermaine Couisnard scored 22 points and Keyshawn Bryant added 14 as South Carolina won its fourth straight game, 66-56 over Mississippi State, Wednesday night in Columbia, S.C.
In avenging a 78-64 loss at Mississippi State on Feb. 1, South Carolina (17-10, 8-7 SEC) got a big lift from its reserves in the first half to grab a double-digit lead and then blanketed the Mississippi State offense in the second half.
The Bulldogs’ efforts to rally were hindered by their ability to score from long distance as they missed all 14 of their tries from beyond the arc.
The loss is a blow to the NCAA Tournament hopes of Mississippi State (16-12, 7-8) as the Bulldogs fell to 1-8 on the road in SEC play.
Tolu Smith led Mississippi State with 21 points while Iverson Molinar added 11 to keep his streak alive. Molinar has scored in double digits in all 28 of the Bulldogs’ games.
The Bulldogs made just 35.8 percent of their shots from the floor and committed 13 turnovers.
It was close through the first five minutes before South Carolina got a lift off the bench from Ta’Quan Woodley, who scored two quick baskets and then added three blocks in the half.
Woodley’s spurt helped put the Gamecocks up 17-11. Later in the half, Bryant triggered a 9-2 run with a slam dunk. When Couisnard finished the run with a 3-pointer, South Carolina had a 31-19 lead.
Another reserve, Devin Carter closed the half with a driving slam dunk as the Gamecocks took a 35-23 lead into the break. Carter finished with six points and five assists.
Backup Brandon Martin contributed a team-high seven rebounds leading South Carolina to a 38-29 edge on the boards.
South Carolina spurted immediately after intermission, as Bryant scored on a jam and added a 3-pointer. When James Reese V hit a 3-pointer, it put the Gamecocks up 43-26 with 17:52 left.
Mississippi State answered with the next seven points. But it was a wasted opportunity as South Carolina went more than 5 1/2 minutes without scoring a field goal. After that, the Bulldogs never got the deficit into single digits.
–Field Level Media