Meechie Johnson able to flip switch and guide South Carolina in second half to win

During the early part of this season, Meechie Johnson has been the go-to guy for South Carolina.

But at some point, he was going to have some downs in what has been a great year. And in the first half of Saturday’s game versus East Carolina, Johnson wasn’t playing like his typical self. While others were hitting shots, he only had two points at the break.

“Early in the first half, I was in some foul trouble, which kind of had me in and out of the game,” Johnson said. “So I really wasn’t able to find a rhythm.”

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By halftime, Johnson already picked up two fouls, three away from fouling out. But that didn’t stop him from playing hard. With South Carolina in a back-and-forth affair, he knew he needed to play better.

“In the second half, we needed scoring, we needed to win this game,” he said. “So I just really had to pull through and get myself together for my team.”

And that’s just what he did. After hitting four free throws, he hit a go-ahead jumper off a turnover with under nine minutes to play. But the Pirates would tie the game soon after. Overall, that would be how things would play out as neither side could truly gain an edge.

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With four minutes to go, Johnson had the ball in hands out on the left wing. He faked right and pulled up in a defenders face, splashing a game-tying three-pointer, his only one of the day. It was all part of a 7-0 run he went on by himself to give his team the lead with under three minutes to play.

South Carolina went on to win the free throw battle in the final minute to pull away to a 68-62 win over East Carolina. But it wouldn’t have been possible without Johnson’s second half performance.

As a result, Johnson finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. 13 of his points came in the second half.

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It was his fourth straight game with double-digit points. It’s been a great year for the second-year transfer, who’s averaging a career-high 18.4 points. He’s done it on 50 percent shooting and 42.3 percent from behind the arc.

“Just to be able to be in that position late, my team trusted me,” he said. “So I knew they were focused on other guys going into the second half because Myles (Stute) was cooking, BJ (Mack) was getting things going. So I had to keep myself ready and not force it, stay patient. And that’s what I did. My teammates found me. I was able to get downhill, get some good finishes.”

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