South Carolina basketball holds off Texas A&M for seventh SEC road victory of the season
Just call ’em the Road Warriors.
The South Carolina basketball team continued its success on the SEC road Wednesday night, posting a 70-68 victory against Texas A&M in the Aggies’ Reed Arena.
South Carolina (23-5, 11-4 SEC) is 6-2 in road SEC games this season – the second-most road victories in league play in program history, trailing only the 1996-97 team that posted seven SEC wins.
Texas A&M (15-13, 6-9) fell to 9-5 at Reed Arena this season – a record that includes wins against Kentucky and Tennessee.
Meechie Johnson paced the Gamecocks with 22 points as South Carolina remained in the upper tier of the SEC standings and in solid contention for a Top 4 finish and double bye in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
South Carolina is alone in third place in the league standings, one game behind first-place Alabama and Tennessee.
“This league is a great league,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. “There’s no bargains on the road. There are some tough games in this league, but I’ve got an unbelievable group around me and I love those guys.
“We’re playing for a lot of things right now, so there won’t be any letdowns. These guys know what they’re playing for and they’ve earned the right to be where they are right now.”
South Carolina led by as many as 13 points in the second half before the Aggies battled back to take a 59-57 lead with 5:30 remaining, but Johnson scored five points in a 9-0 run and the Gamecocks never trailed again.
Texas A&M tied the game at 68 with 9.7 seconds left before Zachary Davis’ layup with three seconds left put the Gamecocks back in front. The Aggies bobbled the ball on the inbounds and were unable to get a shot off.
“I like to play in a broken floor, as long as you’ve got guys that are good decision makers,” Paris said.
Ta’Lon Cooper filled the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for the Gamecocks, who had 22 assists on 28 made baskets, while Zachary Davis added a career-high 16 points.
“Zach’s emerging, on a day-to-day basis Zach’s getting better,” Paris said. “He’s tremendously versatile and he’s been more aggressive offensively. He attacked the rim. He had 14 points in the last game and nine boards. His versatility defensively is what enables him to be in in late-game situations.”
Meechie Johnson regains touch vs. Aggies
Johnson snapped out of his recent slump in a big way. Johnson, who had made just one of his last 15 shots from the floor entering the game, scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor.
He had totaled only five points in the Gamecocks’ last two games, going scoreless in a loss against LSU and managing just five points on 1-of-11 shooting in a win at Ole Miss. Still the team’s second-leading scorer with a 13.5 average, Johnson – a junior transfer from Ohio State – has scored in double figures in 18 of the team’s 28 games this season.
Gamecocks continue success vs. Texas A&M
The Aggies are tough to beat at home, but the Gamecocks have had plenty of success at Reed Arena – including Wednesday night. South Carolina improved to 5-1 against Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams and have prevailed in each of their last four trips to Reed Arena.
South Carolina has won nine of its last 11 games against A&M, regardless of venue. The Aggies romped against the Gamecocks last season in Columbia, winning by 41 points.
Gamecocks come up big on offensive boards
The Gamecocks were facing one of the nation’s top rebounding teams in Texas A&M. The Aggies entered the game ranked third nationally in rebounds per game (42.7) and 12th nationally in rebounding margin (+8.5). They also are the top offensive rebounding team in the country with an average of 17.8 per game.
But the Gamecocks more than held their own, finishing with 37 total rebounds to the Aggies’ 38, but more importantly outrebounding them on the offensive glass, 12-11, including four offensive rebounds by Collin Murray-Boyles. Murray-Boyles had 12 total rebounds.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina basketball outlasts Texas A&M for 7th SEC road win
