No. 14 Mississippi State works overtime to down South Carolina

Riley Kugel scored 15 points, Keyshawn Murphy had 13 and No. 14 Mississippi State held off South Carolina 65-60 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.

Josh Hubbard added 12 points and Michael Nwoko and Claudell Harris Jr. had 11 each for the Bulldogs (16-4, 4-3 Southeastern Conference), who never trailed.

Jamarii Thomas returned from a four-game absence due to a knee injury and scored 18 points, Arden Conyers had 12 and Collin Murray-Bowlesss added 1 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Gamecocks (10-10, 0-7), who finished regulation with a 19-5 run.

Harris made a layup to start the scoring in overtime and Conyers made two free throws to tie the score with 2:04 left. The Bulldogs regained the lead when Hubbard made two free throws and Harris added two with 33 seconds left.

Thomas made a free throw to trim the Bulldogs' lead to three and the Gamecocks made a steal with 8 seconds left. Murray-Bowles missed two free throws and South Carolina rebounded but lost the ball out of bounds. Kugel made four free throws in the final 4 seconds.

Nwoko scored the Bulldogs' first three points of the second half, and Murphy added a basket that pushed the lead to 37-27. The Gamecocks scored the next three points, but Murphy converted a three-point play and Kugel followed with a 3-pointer that expanded the lead to 43-30.

Mississippi State twice led by 14 before Thomas had four points during an 8-0 run that pulled the Gamecocks within six. Harris made a 3-pointer to stop the run, but South Carolina scored seven straight to get within 53-51.

Murphy made a jumper before Murray-Boyles made two free throws to trim the lead to two. Zachary Davis made a steal and a layup to tie the score with 26 seconds left and Hubbard missed a layup just before the buzzer.

MSU scored the first five points of the game on its way to a 13-5 lead. South Carolina pulled even, but the Bulldogs scored the next five points. The Gamecocks closed within one point twice before MSU used a 7-0 finishing run for a 28-20 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media