Second half struggles continue for South Carolina in loss to Mississippi State

After a rough outing in Rocky Top, South Carolina had an opportunity to do some damage to Mississippi State’s postseason aspirations.

While the Gamecocks seemed poised to make it happen, the Bulldogs proved to be too much in the end, winning 74-68.

South Carolina will enter the regular season finale on a three-game losing streak.

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How it happened

Everything was going well for South Carolina (10-20, 3-14 SEC) early on. Offensively, it hit eight of its first nine shots to jump out to a seven-point lead.

Mississippi State eventually started to heat up while the Gamecocks cooled down midway through the first half. The Bulldogs fought back to tie and take the lead for the first time since scoring first to open the game. A couple of big scoring runs helped them shoot better as the half went on.

But South Carolina didn’t go down quickly. GG Jackson was one of the sole reasons why it was still a close game. The freshman forward had 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first half. His shots didn’t come the easy way as he had to drive to the rim and face a hard-nosed defense.

While Jackson was playing strong, the rest of the team wasn’t on the same level. In the final three minutes, the Gamecocks didn’t make a shot, closing out the half shooting 1-for-8 from the floor.

Once again, Mississippi State made them pay for their cold stretches. It went into the break hitting six of its last eight shots and on a 6-0 run in the last two minutes. The Bulldogs shot 57 percent from the floor to take an eight-point lead.

Coming out of the break, South Carolina needed to make some adjustments to get back in it. Just as the doctor ordered, the Bulldogs were struggling to hit shots while the Gamecocks weren’t missing.

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Mississippi State sent the Gamecocks to the free throw line multiple times, allowing them to cut the deficit to two.

Trailing by three, Eli Sparkman drilled a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game. Two minutes later, Jacobi Wright gave them their first lead since the first half with a three of his own.

Just when the Gamecocks were poised to make an even bigger run, the Bulldogs’ defense stepped up. They forced eight second half turnovers and scored 15 points off those mistakes.

Shots were starting to go through the net again as well. Mississippi State knocked down seven of its final nine shots to take a comfortable lead.

After Tolu Smith was the key shooter in the first half, Shakeel Moore led the comeback effort in the second half. He only had six points early on but finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

South Carolina finished the night shooting 44 percent from the floor. However, Mississippi State was just better, shooting 50 percent.

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Two observations

Eli Sparkman is a spark plug—Say what you will about Sparkman being a walk-on freshman but there’s no denying he’s got talent. He does seem to provide a spark whenever he’s been on the floor. Sparkman has continued to play big minutes in the absence of Chico Carter Jr. and Ford Cooper Jr. He finished with six points on 2-of-3 shooting in 11 minutes on Tuesday.

Second half issues continue—After a rough 19-point second half in Knoxville, South Carolina looked ready to put that problem to rest. But Mississippi State’s defense gave the Gamecocks problems and made the difference.

Key stat

40 to 26—The Gamecocks were severely outmatched against the Bulldogs in the paint. While they picked up one more total rebound than their opponent, it didn’t make a difference. Mississippi State made it look easy getting the close baskets.

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Turning point

Soonafter the Gamecocks retook the lead in the second half, Mississippi State fired back with strong play on both ends of the floor. Combined with creating a couple of turnovers, the Bulldogs hit 7-of-9 shots in the final minutes to get the win.

Up next

South Carolina heads back home for its regular season finale Saturday afternoon. The Gamecocks will try to get a win on senior day against a struggling Georgia squad. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on SEC Network.

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