Matthew Murrell scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Ole Miss earned its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season by defeating South Carolina 70-58 on Tuesday in Columbia, S.C.
Murrell made 5 of 11 3-point attempts and Jayveous McKinnis added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Rebels (9-9, 1-5 SEC) ended a six-game losing streak.
Gregory Jackson II scored 15 to lead the Gamecocks (8-10, 1-4), who were outrebounded 43-31. Chico Carter Jr. scored 12 points before fouling out.
Ole Miss made 10 of 24 shots from 3-point range (41.7 percent) and South Carolina made 6 of 24 (25 percent). The Gamecocks also shot just 36.7 percent (22 of 60) from the floor and 61.5 percent (8 of 13) on free throws.
South Carolina scored the first six points of the second half to close within 30-26.
Robert Allen made two free throws for Ole Miss’ first points of the half after more than three minutes, but Meechie Johnson answered with a 3-pointer.
Murrell made two 3-pointers during a 13-2 run that gave the Rebels a 45-31 lead midway through the half.
Zachary Davis ended the run by sinking a layup, and teammate Josh Gray added a dunk to trim the deficit to 10.
McKinnis and James White responded with consecutive baskets to give Ole Miss a 49-35 lead.
The Gamecocks climbed within nine points, but Murrell made consecutive 3-pointers to expand the lead to 55-42 with four minutes remaining.
McKinnis hit two baskets as the Rebels raced to a 12-4 lead after 4 1/2 minutes.
Carter sank a layup to stop that run and added a 3-pointer that pulled the Gamecocks within 16-14.
Murrell had five points during a 10-1 run that increased Ole Miss’ lead to 26-15.
Hayden Brown answered with a layup, and South Carolina later scored the final three points to pull within 30-20 at halftime as the Rebels went scoreless for the final two minutes.
–Field Level Media