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South Carolina battles to end to pick up huge win over Hokies

imageby: Jack Veltri11/11/23jacktveltri
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Jacobi Wright (Chris Gillespie/GamecockCentral)

In a game that went tooth and nail until the end, South Carolina came away with the win. It defeated Virginia Tech 79-77 in the He Gets Us Hall of Fame Series at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

How it happened

After a tight knit first few minutes, Virginia Tech started to gain some momentum and had a five-point lead. But the Gamecocks (2-0) scored six straight points and regained the lead with just over 12 minutes to go.

From there, South Carolina looked to be the better team for the rest of the first half. It went on a key 14-2 run midway through the first half to take a double-digit lead.

Myles Stute and Ta’Lon Cooper led the way offensively, combining for 21 first half points. But it was the defense that really shined early for the Gamecocks.

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The Hokies went 11-for-30 from the floor and 2-for-14 from behind the arc in the first half. Other than some tough plays in the paint, the Gamecocks did a good job of containing Virginia Tech’s better shooters such as Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla, who went 1-for-9 from three-point range.

By halftime, South Carolina led by seven points. The Gamecocks did get into some foul trouble, though, with seven fouls.

Coming out of the break, Virginia Tech slowly started to wake up. It cut the lead down to three in the first few minutes and looked poised to go on a big run.

But just when it looked like the Hokies might take over, South Carolina hit a few shots to stay in front. And that’s the way things would go for much of the second half — back and forth.

With just over three minutes to go, Virginia Tech grabbed its first lead since the 13-minute mark in the first half. It took awhile but shots just weren’t falling the same way they had most of the night for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina did fight back to regain the lead and even went up by four in the final minutes. But the Hokies responded to tie it up again.

With under 30 seconds to go, BJ Mack used his frame to go up and under the rim for a go-ahead basket. And after getting a jump ball with two seconds left, the Gamecocks escaped with the win.

Two observations

This team is significantly better than last year—It’s very early but there’s a lot of fight in this bunch. It’s possible South Carolina would’ve been down and out of this type of game last year. But there’s just something clicking so far this year. The wins might not be there in the latter half of the season but lots to feel optimistic about going forward.

Myles Stute looked great—What a night for the Vanderbilt transfer. He finished with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

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Key stat

10-for-21—Once again, South Carolina shot the ball very well from behind the arc, shooting 47.6 percent.

Turning point

With under 30 seconds to go, Mack had the ball in his hands and went to work. He drove inside on a defender, using his big frame to make a play. And he went up and under the rim to give the Gamecocks the lead.

Up next

South Carolina heads back home for a matchup with VMI Monday night. Tip-off begins at 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.

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